Genetically Altered
by DarkNite109
Summary: Has anyone ever wondered how Vincent came to be in that Shinra Mansion? What follows is the documented tale of why and how Vincent was kidnapped, tortured with Mako energy, and put to sleep in a basement.
1. War Games

Disclaimer: No, sadly I do not own any of the FF7 characters. That honor belongs to Square Enix alone.

Summary: One day, I sat down and thought about it. How the heck did Vincent get stuck in a basement? Well, here is the answer. This is the story of why and how Vincent Valentine was captured, tortured with Mako energy, and put to sleep in a basement.

Note: This story takes place nine years before the events of Final Fantasy 7.

Chapter one: War Games

The grey sky looked down upon the rain-soaked earth, a gloom-filled canvass capping an oppressive day. It was fast approaching evening, and with the sun hidden behind the clouds, it might as well have been midnight. The air was warm and heavy, like a wet blanket. Clouds of humidity drifted from the wet grass.

Vincent pushed his damp hair out of his eyes. His back was beginning to ache, lying as he was, sprawled on the ground. Going home would be nice, as would taking a hot shower to wash off the mud. He couldn't leave though; the others were counting on him.

He double checked, for what must have been the tenth time that afternoon, that his gun was prepped and loaded. He didn't want to get a clear shot and then find himself with an ill-prepared weapon. He checked the setting, then settled back down, waiting for the signal.

The world was completely silent. It seemed that even the crickets had taken the day off, in anticipation of what was to come. A small wind stirred his hair and the pattering rain tickled his back. He scratched idelly at a misquito bite on his bare arm, waiting.

The signal came. Several meters ahead, what had looked like a clump of grass rose up on two feet and raised a hand. A small flash of light flared up, illuminating the surrounding area. Vincent leapt to his feet, a wild cry escaping his throat. All around him, similar lumps lying in the field rose to their feet.

As a group they ran, feet slapping the wet ground. From out of the rain, Vincent saw a flare identical to the one his companion had sent up. The enemy was moving.

As soon as he saw the figures from out of the gloom, Vincent stopped. Dropping to one knee, he raised his gun.

"Hit and run!" he yelled, squeezing off a round at the nearest enemy. There was a splatter of red, and the figure dropped on the spot, blond hair flopping in front of her face.

"Nice shot, Vince!" the boy next to him called as they retreated to the safety of a small copse. They could regroup there and plan their next move.

"How many did we lose?" Vincent asked as the group squatted on the ground.

"Only two. Bren and Liel." The boy reporting grinned. "We got four of theirs."

"Good," Vincent answered. He grimaced. He didn't like losing any of his people, it made him angry.

"Okay," he said, picking up a rotting stick, "We'll come at them from the back." He scratched a line in the dirt. "If we circle around through the trees, we can take them by surprise. We won't lose anyone, and we'll win this time."

A sandy-haired boy covered in mud shook his head, chuckling. "Calm down Vince, you can't concentrate when you freak out like this." Several of the others laughed with him. Vincent smiled himself. His friends often teased him for his calmness.

"Okay," he said, "Let's go!"

They moved quickly through the trees, though the little light they had was quickly decreasing. If they were going to win, they would have to do it quickly, before the night crept upon them. Vincent was working hard to stop himself breaking into a run. Secrecy was everything right now.

It was only a few minutes until he could make out the sound of low conversation. He held up a hand.

"If we circle around," a girl's voice was saying, "We can take them by surprise."

The sandy-haired boy and a blue-eyed girl sniggered slightly. _Idiots, _Vincent mouthed, _Let's get ready. _

_Ready when you are, _the blue-eyed girl whispered back.

"Now!" Vincent yelled. He leapt out from behind the trees, shooting the first thing that moved, a short boy, who obediently dropped on the spot.

Utter confusion ensued, as people of both sides ran wildly about the trees, taking shots wherever they could. Regardless of the fading light, it was easy to tell that Vincent's group was coming out on top.

Vincent stepped back a bit, trying to find his next target. He had just raised his gun to a pale, skinny girl, when he felt the cold touch of steel on the back of his neck.

"Very sloppy, Vincent, not like you at all."

The gun was held by a smirking blond girl. Even through the mud and rain it was easy to see her good looks. She looked completely capable of pulling that trigger.

"Scarlet," Vincent snapped, his heart sinking. He had lost, _again. _

Scarlet beamed, her finger flexing. Vincent closed his eyes, waiting for the impending impact. It didn't come. Scarlet was standing there, crimson splattered the side of her head. The sandy-haired boy stood beside her, gun still raised.

"Thanks, Gon," Vincent said, grinning.

He turned to the shocked girl. She was still standing upright.

"You lost, Scarlet. Fall."

Scarlet glanced up, gave him a glare, and dropped to her knees.

"Happy now? I know you like seeing me on my knees, Vince."

Vincent laughed, offering a hand. "You're not really my type, but you never know." Scarlet smiled through the fake blood splattered on her face.

Vincent turned to Gon. "Send up the flare. Let's bring everyone back to life and get back. I'm starved."

Gon raised his hand and shot out a blue light that matched his and Vincent's headbands. It exploded from the trees. There was a collective round of cheering and groaning to greet it. The blue-headbanded team ran up, slapping each other on the back and all talking together. More than half of them had the red paint covering some part of their body. The green team lurched up as well, grouping around Scarlet. Absolutely all of them had the paint on them.

"Good game," Vincent said, offering Scarlet a hand. She shook it with half a smile.

"Winners buy," she said.

They trooped back to Kalm village, wet, muddy, and happy. There game had taken over three hours, and night had now settled in. They went their separate ways at the entrance of the town, planning to meet at the pub in an hour, after getting cleaned up.

Every muscle in Vincent's body ached as he limped home. He couldn't believe it, the first charge he'd led, he'd won. It was such a good feeling. He was now undoubtedly one of the best gunners in the village. Who said you needed materia to be strong?

All over the Planet, people were getting the new procedure to adapt their bodies to accept a super-concentrated form of Mako energy. Materia could make you stronger, tougher, and faster, and it could also let you perform magic without any training. He had heard about it three years ago and being who he was, an ambitious fifteen year-old, he had wanted some of it himself.

His dream was to become a part of Soldier, the elite fighting force of the new Shinra Corporation. It was a company that promised to meet the Planet's increasing power needs. So far they had done a fine job, using reactors to create Mako energy. However, in order to try out for Soldier, you needed to be in Midgar City, and in order to get to out of Kalm and into Midgar you needed money, or at least a family that you didn't feel obligated to.

He did feel obligated to the parents that raised him, so joining Soldier was just a passing dream. It was for rich, important people, not him. He was doomed to live out his life in Kalm.


	2. The Turks

Disclaimer: No, I don't own any of the FF7 characters. That would be nice.

Authors Note: People keep asking me how old Vincent is supposed to be in this story. He's sixteen right now, and I know I said something in the first chapter to oppose that, but it's true.

Please everyone! Review!

Chapter two: The Turks

Vincent let himself into the house quietly. It was late, and his parents went to bed with the sun, rising with it as well. He knew he should too; he had work tomorrow as well, but the call of his friends waiting for him was too strong. He would take a shower and then meet them at the pub.

He took off his muddy boots at the door. They were beginning to fall apart, like pretty much everything else he owned. As it was summer, it didn't bother him much. He peeled of his wet shirt and dumped it onto the boots, resolving to do something with it later.

He was just about to climb the stairs towards the family's bathroom, when something caught his ear. It was a low rumbling sound, like some sort of high powered machine. It wasn't something you heard everyday in Kalm.

Vincent trotted back down the stairs and pulled the door open. All along the street, other doors were opening, as their occupants stared out into the night. Coming down the rough, unpaved road was a long black limo. That was definitely something you didn't see everyday in the Kalm.

Wondering what in the hell could be going on, Vincent slowly let himself out of the house. His hand had closed over his gun. Even loaded as it was with fake bullets, it could still serve in making an impression. Something about this didn't feel right, and he didn't want to be without a weapon.

The limo stopped in the middle of the road, its tires splashing up muddy water. It looked out of place, with its gleaming black paint and rims, against the backdrop of Kalm village. The driver's door opened and a man wearing a black suit jumped smartly out. He ignored the villagers staring at him and circled around the vehicle, skirting a particularly large puddle in the road. He opened the back passenger door and stood back.

A woman much taller than the driver emerged from the darkness inside. She was slender, graceful, and long legged. Her hair was a powder blue and cut to frame her face. What caught Vincent's attention however, were her eyes. They were a strange, icy green, and very cruel. She was dressed in a pearl black suit much finer than the driver's.

Following closely were two boys around Vincent's age. One of them was well-built and brown-haired, the other skinny and red-headed. They both wore similar trousers and vests that looked almost military issue. All three of the strangers wore guns and holsters.

"I am Erika of the Turks," the woman called out to no one in particular, "I am here on behalf of Shinra Inc. My I ask that one of you good people direct me to a headman, or a chief, or whoever else is in charge here…" Her words ended in an amused chuckle, that was shared by the two boys behind her.

Vincent was sure that he didn't like this woman. She was talking to the villagers like they were idiots. He had seen that before; people assumed that because his people were farmers and woodsman, they weren't as bright as the city dwellers. He did not appreciate (what had the woman said?) _Turks_ coming into his town and insulting him and his family.

"We have a mayor, ma'am," he said, striding down the wooden steps to the soggy ground, "I can show you were he lives, though he may be busy at the moment."

The woman turned her amused smile on Vincent. Her eyes traveled over his entire body; she didn't even try to be discreet. Vincent suddenly wished that he had thought to put his shirt back on.

"Only if you'll come with me, farm boy," the woman said. The two boys laughed derisively at her shoulder. "Maybe I wouldn't hate backwater towns so much if more guys like you walked around half naked."

All the way up the street, villagers were glancing at each other, eyebrows raised. Who was this strange woman come to bother them in their quiet evening?

Vincent felt himself turning red, but the woman had already moved on. She and her two companies had gotten back into the limo. The long black car moved slowly on up the street, a darker shadow cast on the dark night.

Vincent turned and went back into his house. If he knew his…well, if he knew anything at all, he knew who the Turks were. They were another of Shinra Inc's agencies. While Soldier was its brute strength, the Turks were its spies and agents. They were not people that you wanted to be on the wrong side of. And if what Vincent had just witnessed was any indication, the whole of Kalm village was on that side.

He snatched his shirt and boots back up, pulled them on, then stepped outside again. All thoughts of getting cleaned up forgotten, he joined the small stream of villagers heading towards the mayor's residence. As he walked past a small wooden house set back from the side of the road, he was joined by Gon and Scarlet.

"What's going on?" Scarlet asked, falling into step beside Vincent.

He shook his head and kept on walking, not really in the mood for conversation. The rain had slackened off and the night sky had become to clear, permitting the light of the moon to illuminate the village streets. It was a rather eerie scene; dozens of people walking quietly along, alone or in groups.

"Who in the hell was that woman?" Gon questioned at one point. He at least looked like he had taken the time to change his clothes, even though mud still caked his hair and face. Scarlet looked like she had washed her hair.

"I didn't see her," she said, "My dad said she looked like someone with Shinra. Do you think she could be from Soldier? That would be so awesome! Maybe I could talk to her, I've always planned on joining soldier…" Scarlet trailed off, imagining all the wonderful things that could come from a Soldier's, visit.

"I hate to ruin your dreams, but she's a Turk, not a Soldier," Vincent answered.

"A what?"

"Turk. I saw a few of them when I was in Midgar last fall. They're part of Shinra, but there like special agents, or something like that."

"Cool," Gon breathed.

Vincent didn't exactly agree. Sure, spies were interesting to read about, but he didn't want one prowling around his hometown.

"Well, maybe it'll shake things up around here," Scarlet shrugged, "Oh, and we're not supposed to play that game anymore."

Her comment was enough to jar Vincent out of his thoughts of spies and soldiers.

"What game?"

Scarlet rolled her eyes. "Come on Vincent, get with it. The game we play almost every week. The one where we all pretend to kill each other in the woods?"

"Oh, that game. What do you mean you're not supposed to play it?"

Scarlet shrugged again. "My old man says it'll turn us all into sadistic maniacs."

"That's the point," Gon laughed sarcastically.

"That argument won't win with him, and mine didn't work too well either."

"What did you say?" Vincent asked.

"Screw you', and 'you can't stop me', or something like that."

Vincent shook his head. He didn't have a doubt that Scarlet was telling the truth. She was the most headstrong person he had ever met in his life. She was also extremely handy with a gun. In all the years of playing their game, she had never been on the losing side once. Except today.

The village square was lit up with very weak lamps. The closest Mako reactor was still too far away to give much power to Kalm; the only house that could make use of it was the mayor's, and that was just for cooking and heating.

Quite a crowd had assembled. The Turks' limo was parked outside the mayor's house. The driver leaned up against it, seemingly unaware that he was surrounded by people.

Suddenly, the doors to the Mayor's house burst open. The three Turks marched out, Erika in the lead. Her eyes flashed in anger, dignified frustration dripping from her figure.

"Attention, people of Kalm," she addressed the crowd, "As your Mayor is an uncooperative dolt, no one leaves or enters this village until we find what we're looking for!" Erika paused for a moment, breathing heavily. When she had regained her self composure, she went on, "As long as you stay within the boundaries of the southern hills and those old woods down that way, you will not be harmed. But just remember, step one foot out and you're dead. Reno and Tseng here will make sure of that." She put a hand on the shoulders of the two boys beside her, who both tried to appear imposing. They didn't need to try; the guns on their belts were enough to keep the villagers silent.

Erika shook her hair out of her face in an impatient way and swept off to her limo. Just as she was about to slide into her seat (the door held open by the dutiful driver) the mayor burst out of the door of his house.

He was a portly, balding, respectable man, who had served as mayor of Kalm for over 20 years. He looked rather unimpressive beside Erika who stood at least half a foot taller than him.

"Miss, uh, Turk!" he squeaked, stumbling his way down the mansion's steps. He paused to catch his breath at the bottom. Erika was watching him with what appeared to be mingled amusement and disdain. Vincent was beginning to hate this woman.

"Please," the mayor said angrily, "This is an outrage! You can't just come in here and start ordering us around. We have no love for the Shinra!"

Reno let out a harsh laugh. "No ties to the Shinra, old man? Well, what about those?" He pointed to the week streetlamps illuminating the square. "And those?" He jerked his head toward the mayor's home.

The mayor gasped. Indignation was flowing out of every pore. "Of all the,"

Erika stepped between the little mayor and the still grinning boy. "My apologies for Reno, Mayor. His diplomacy skills…well, they're a work in progress." She turned and glared at Reno and Tseng, who had both begun chuckling at her words. "We have orders. If you do not comply with those orders, we reserve the right to cut off your supply of Mako energy, and leave your little village, pardon the pun, in the dark."

Vincent clenched his fists. How could someone speak so cavalierly about a whole town's future? He made to take a step in the direction that stank of Turks, but felt a hand pull him back.

"Scarlet, let go," he growled.

"No," she whispered back, digging her nails into his wrist, "I'm not gonna let that short temper and big mouth of yours get you into trouble."

Gon seemed to agree. "She's right, man. It's not worth it."

Vincent shrugged and shook his hand free of Scarlet's death-grip. Five marks ran the length of his wrist. One had even drawn blood.

The Mayor seemed to be rethinking his approach. "Miss Turk," he said in a reasonable tone, "What is it that you and your people are looking for?"

"None of your business, Pops," Reno answered. Erika cuffed him on the head and Tseng kicked him in the shins.

"Once again, ignore him," Erika said, "We're looking for an escapee from a facility up north. If anyone has any idea where it could be, please contact me and mine. Now could one of you good people please direct me to an inn…"

Vincent and his friends watched as Erika and the two boys were turned in the right direction. He could not believe what he'd just witnessed. The Mayor of Kalm had allowed some bitch to walk all over him. They had played right into her hands, acting like defenseless farmers.

This was not beginning to look like a pleasant night.

"What do you guys think?" Gon asked when the crowd had begun to disperse, "Is the person they're looking for really here?"

Vincent shrugged. "I don't know. It would help if we knew _who _they were looking for. All they said was that no one leaves until they find him, or her, or it. What did that woman say? It escaped from a facility up north? That's rather foreboding. What about you, Scar?"

Scarlet didn't respond to the question. She was too busy watching Erika's retreating limo.

"They're strong, I wish I was that strong," she whispered.

"Are you crazy?" Vincent asked, "They're bullies with guns, that's it."

His words didn't seem to make much of an impression. Scarlet was still staring after the Turk leader with something dangerously close to admiration in her eyes. Gon gave her a playful shove.

"Come on Scar, forget about it. You'd make a shitty Shinra agent."

Scarlet cut her eyes at him. "Why?" she demanded, "You guys have seen me. I'm a damn good shot, and no one can beat me at hand to hand. Don't say a word, Vincent."

Vincent closed his mouth, grinning to himself. Scarlet didn't have it exactly

accurate. None of the _girls _could beat her at hand to hand. She had yet to best him. He had no doubt that she would one day, but he didn't like to talk about that.

"You couldn't be an agent because you don't shoot people," Gon said matter-of-factly, "Sure, we all play games, but you would never actually kill anyone, we know you."

Scarlet seemed to have reached the same conclusion. She kicked moodily at a lone pebble in the street and strode of toward her house without so much as muttering a goodbye.

"Teenagers." Gon said this in such a serious voice that Vincent burst out laughing. He watched Scarlet skirt her home, heading for the woodshed in the backyard that housed her gun when she wasn't using it. He and Gon had just reached the limits of the property, when a scream from back the way they'd come tore at the night.


	3. Runaway

Disclaimer: You know, I didn't create any of these characters! No, really, I didn't… They belong to Square Enix

**Chapter 3: Runaway **

Vincent and Gon whipped round.

"Was that…" Gon started.

"Scarlet!"

The two of them raced back up the street, sloshing through puddles of rainwater and sliding across mud. They arrived in the large yard only slightly filthier than they had been previously. Scarlet was standing in front of the open woodshed, gun in her hand. She seemed to have forgotten it was fake; either that or she was trying to scare whatever was hiding inside.

"Who the hell are you?" she demanded of the shed, "Get the crap out here!"

Vincent slipped and slid across the yard to her side. "What is it Scar?" He peered into the dark depths of the shed.

It was a small, musty space filled with farming tools and the like. On the far wall hung an assortment of guns (real guns this time) and hunting knives. A family of birds seemed to have taken up residence in one of the corners. Someone was huddled beneath their nest, hidden slightly by a large pitchfork.

"Hey, come out here," Vincent ordered. Whoever they were, they looked quite young, and hid their head in their hands when he spoke.

"Good God, Scarlet, I think you scared the shit out of him!" Gon chuckled, "Come on out, Kid, we won't let her bite."

The boy stood up slowly. He squinted as though hit by a sudden glare, although the only light was the moon, which had shaken itself free of the choking clouds.

He was tall and lanky, and very pale. He must have been a little younger than Vincent, fifteen or so. His clothing was entirely black and, though it looked quite well-made, it was ripped, torn, and stained, as if the wearer had rolled headlong through a thicket of thorn bushes. (Something Vincent had been known to do when he was younger.) Silver hair spilled over the boy's shoulders to his mid-back. The eyes that looked out at them were almost abnormally blue and glowed with a strange intensity. In them was a memory of something beyond fear, beyond pain. This boy had the eyes of a soldier lying half-dead on the Warfield. The look didn't fit such a young face.

"Are you alright?" Vincent asked, though it was a stupid question. The boy was obviously not alright. Small, inummerable scratches covered his arms (which added to the thorn bushes theory) and a dark bruise was splashed across his left cheek. His eyes flicked back in forth as though he were looking for a way out, or somewhere else to hide.

"What's your name?" Gon inquired.

"Yeah and why were you in my shed?" Scarlet added.

The boy opened his mouth and coughed. When he spoke, his voice was husky and surprisingly mature for someone of his appearance.

"I-I'm Seph, and I didn't know it was your shed." He bowed his head. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Scarlet answered, uncomfortable, "It's just a shed."

Seph smiled weakly. It made him look older. Vincent suddenly had no idea how old this boy was. He could be anywhere from 14 to 18. Whatever and whoever he was, he looked like he had been through a lot.

"Maybe you should go home or something," he suggested, then immediately regretted it when a pained expression came over Seph's face. Maybe he didn't have a home to go home to.

Gon seemed to have noticed too. "You should at least get out of the shed. We can give you something for those cuts."

Seph looked down at his arms as though he had only just noticed he had them. His manner was that of a cowed dog that had been beaten for years. He looked like he could do with some food and a bath. Vincent looked down at himself. He looked like he could do with a bath as well.

"Why don't you come to my place, uh, Seph," he said, "I can get you some other clothes and stuff."

Seph nodded and tried the smile thing again. "Okay."

Scarlet stood there for a few more seconds, a look of intense concentration on her face. "I've gotta be somewhere," she announced suddenly, "See ya all later." She turned and headed quickly onto the road, back toward the village square.

Vincent and Gon stared after her. Seph just looked confused.

"What is she doing?" Gon asked incredulously, "She was going home a minute ago."

Vincent shook his head. It was probably nothing. Girls were weird, everyone knew that. Still, it was a little strange. What had meeting Seph made Scarlet need to do?

"I guess I'll see you two later, huh Vince?" Gon said at his shoulder. He looked disappointed. His mother would freak out if he wasn't home soon, and he wanted to stick around. There was so much pent up tension in the air at night.

"See ya," Vincent answered.

"See you," Seph said.

Vincent led his new acquaintance along the street. Seph jumped at the slightest noise and cringed from the smallest light that spilled from the houses lining the road. What could possibly happened to create this much fear in a person? It was like he was expecting at any moment to be attacked from behind. Vincent wondered vaguely if he should offer him his gun. Probably wasn't a good idea. It was fake, and Seph didn't look like the kind of guy that carried a weapon.

"So, have you ever been to Kalm before?" Vincent made a stab at conversation. It would be a miracle if he could get this guy to string together a sentence.

"No." Miracles were definitely in short supply these days.

"Oh, well that's cool. Listen, Seph, I'm sure that you're tired and hungry and stuff," he eyed the boy's underfed frame. "But you can talk to me, there's no one in this village that can hurt you."

Seph gave a hollow laugh, muttering something that sounded like, "I seriously doubt that." The fearful look was back in his eyes. He looked like he was expecting Vincent to jump at his throat.

They entered Vincent's house as quiet as they could, all the better to keep his parents asleep. He had no doubt that they would meet Seph in the morning, and he sure they wouldn't turn him out, but it was best to avoid awkward questions. Bringing a girl home in the middle of the night was bad enough, he didn't even want to think about how strange things could get if his parents got the wrong idea. As this thought crossed his mind, he turned to Seph, looking at him in the light of the lamp he had lit.

Now that he thought about it, this boy would be quite good-looking to the women he ran into. Provided of course, that no horrible defects were hidden beneath the dirt.

"There's a spigot in the back yard. The water's cold, but it'll hardly matter, it's so damn hot outside." Vincent smiled apologetically. "I know it's quaint, but it's really all we've got in Kalm."

Seph shrugged. "It's fine." He crossed to the back door, pulling his tattered shirt off as he went.

Vincent sighed. He sank down onto the couch, but then sprung up again instantly when he remembered how covered in dried mud he was. His mother would not appreciate stains on the upholstery. It was turning out to be an extremely weird night. It had started in victory, and then progressed to a crisis. Everyone was now stuck in Kalm, all because of three goons with guns. Though Erika wasn't exactly what you would call goon-looking. She was beautiful, which made her twice as deadly.

Vincent had read plenty of adventure books; the better-looking the opponent, the harder it was to take them seriously and concentrate. He had begun to have that problem with Scarlet a couple of years ago. Still, they were usually neck and neck when it came to any physical ability, though it didn't seem like there would be any competition between them until this Turk problem was dealt with. .

And to cap all his problems, he had the biggest one outside in the back, standing under the shower. Who was Seph and why had he run away to Kalm of all places? Most people that leave home went to Midgar, which was the only large city on the Continent. Wherever he was headed, he didn't look like he was doing too well. Maybe someone would come looking for him…

Wait. Maybe someone already had. Hadn't Erika said that she, Reno, and Tseng weren't leaving until they found someone? Well, there wasn't anything new in Kalm, except for one thing.

That one thing was currently coming inside from the backyard.

Seph emerged in the living room, seemingly not realizing his was dripping water all over the floor. All of the dirt had been washed away from his skin, making him seem a little less pale than before. The long silver hair that snaked down his back looked considerably cleaner.

"Oh, hey Seph. I'm trying to find you a place to sleep,"

"Uh, Vincent?" Seph interrupted, staring at the increasingly wetter floor. "Would it be alright if I just slept outside, in the back?"

"Sure," Vincent answered, a little surprised. Seph looked like he had been sleeping outside for the last month, had he grown fond of it?

He was smiling now, and bowing slightly. "Thank you, it's just that…I don't really like being inside."

He turned on his heel and went back out to the shower. Vincent suddenly realized that that ruled out getting cleaned up himself. _Oh well, _he thought, _tomorrow is another day. _

That was a very true statement, one that should not be used lightly. If Vincent had known what tomorrow would bring, he would have clung desperately onto today.


	4. A Ghost in the Machine

Disclaimer: None of the final fantasy characters belong to me…yep…

Author's note: Sorry it took so much time to get this chapter up. I was sick for a week and have been buried under make-up work. Honestly, I thought I was going to choke on math. Thank Yevon for Spring Break!

**Chapter 4: A ghost in the machine**

Vincent was awakened around one o'clock that night by a loud pounding on the door. At first he thought it was Seph, knocking to get back in. He lurched down the stairs, pulling on his shirt blearily. When he hit the landing, he was alert instantly. The pounding was coming from the front door, not the back.

As he peered through the small window, Vincent noticed that both his mother's and his father's boots were gone. As odd as that was, he had more pressing problems. The group of armed figures congregated on his front porch, for instance.

Vincent opened the door just a crack to tell them to get the hell out of there. That was his first mistake of the night. The moment there was any distance between the door and the door jam, someone put all their weight into pushing it open. Vincent was knocked backwards into the banister. He felt his head crack against the solid wood. Stars winked in front off his eyes as he fought to remain conscious.

Outside of his front door stood Erika, Reno, and Tseng, dressed in black leather and armed to the teeth. The Turks had come out in full force. What was worse, Gon and Scarlet were with them. Gon had a black eye.

"Send him out here and we won't have to kill you," Tseng said, his gun pointed at the center of Vincent's forehead.

"Who?" Vincent asked. He knew the answer, but he had to stall for as long as he could to give Seph time. He hoped to God that he had enough sense not to try to make it out of the village.

_ Just hide in someone's barn!_ He thought earnestly, as though wishing it could somehow make it happen.

"Don't play stupid with us, kid, the chick told us that Sephiroth left with one of you two." Reno jerked his head in Gon's and Scarlet's direction.

As annoyed as he was with being called kid by someone that looked younger than he was, he didn't speak. He was too busy looking at Scarlet, shocked. How could she have sold Seph out like that?

"I-I didn't mean to, Vincent," Scarlet gasped, "They were gonna kill me if I didn't talk."

Erika gave her a withering glance, snapping, "Reno, go and check the back of the house."

Vincent started down the steps. "Hey, you can't go back-," He was silenced by two guns pointed his way.

His attention was suddenly snatched by the sound of an explosion. A huge puff of black smoke streamed up from the direction of the mayor's home. He could see the glow of firelight and the sound of many voices raisen in anger.

Erika followed his gaze. She smirked. "Yes, apparently farmers get angry when you kill they're mayor. They have a tendency to riot."

Vincent couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"You didn't-you couldn't!"

"Oh yes we could, Vincent," Scarlet answered. A gun had suddenly materialized in her hand. She must have been holding it behind her back for the whole time. She was now standing with the same confident air as Tseng and Erika.

"Scarlet," Vincent ventured, "What the hell are you doing?"

"The smart thing," Erika answered for her, "She wants what's best for her village, and for herself."

Gon gave a cry of anger and leapt away from Scarlet, going to stand beside Vincent instead. He looked like he was about to be sick.

"What the hell? How could you, Scarlet.?"

Tseng laughed in an annoyingly clichéd villain tone. "She's not an idiot like you two, that's how. Right after she found what we were looking for in her shed, she found us."

They were all distracted by a commotion at the side of the house. Reno emerged from the shadows, leading a very disoriented-looking Seph. His face was pale, his eyes blank. He stumbled along after Reno obediently like a dog on a leash.

"What did you do to him?" Vincent demanded.

Erika spared Seph half a glance, as though she was in the middle of something terrifically important and couldn't be bothered. "Spell. He'll be fine in a couple of hours. By then, we'll be out of here and halfway to Condor."

It was strange how small boys can be so fearsome when they were upset. Gon gave an angry yell and launched himself at Reno. It was a mark of how frustrated he felt that he was defending an almost complete stranger. Scarlet's betrayal had really hurt him.

Vincent didn't know how he felt about his former friend, but he did know that he couldn't let them take Seph. He moved to join Gon in his attack, when a gunshot sounded. Gon stopped in his tracks, pressing a hand to his chest. His face went blank and he slumped to the ground. Vincent could only watch in shocked horror as his friend gave a final spasm of pain and lay still.

In a kind of numb haze, Vincent looked from left to right, searching for the source of the bullet. He saw instead Scarlet, gun in her hand, shaking.

"You were wrong about me, Gon," she whispered.

Vincent could never really recall what happened next. He remembered throwing himself at Scarlet, only to be knocked to the ground by Erika. She moved so fast he didn't even see if she hit him or kicked him. All he knew was he ended up in the mud, completely winded. Scarlet gave him a long look, then turned away. Reno grabbed Seph roughly and pushed him forward.

Vincent groaned and tried to rise. He felt something slam into the back of his head, and was sent back to the ground. Tseng's leering face peered down at him, as he kicked him over and over again.

"Enough, Tseng," Erika ordered, "Don't kill him."

Vincent coughed and groaned, trying to roll himself over. The last thing he saw was the retreating backs of the Turks and their captive, before darkness closed in on him.

Even after regaining consciousness, several hours later, he laid there, eyes closed. His whole body felt like one giant bruise, which was nothing compared to the torture in his mind. Scarlet, Scarlet had betrayed them.

It had begun to rain again and, as Vincent levered himself out of the mud, it poured down like a million tears from the heavens. Gon lay a few feet away, sprawled on the ground, his eyes blank. Blood still oozed from the wound on his chest, to be washed away into the mud.

Vincent lurched over to his friend's body. Everything felt like a dream, empty and unreal. There were still shouts from the direction of the mayor's home, but he ignored them. He knelt down and, with a whispered prayer to some nameless god, eased Gon's eyes closed. He now looked like he was just sleeping. On the ground, in the rain, in the middle of the road.

Vincent stood back up, and began limping toward the square. He felt like he should be crying, but no tears would come. They all seemed to be stuck behind his eyes. Nobody close to him had ever died. He had nothing to compare the experience to.

His body ached and his mind spun, but still, he continued up the road. The closer he got to the center of town, the clearer it was that something big had gone down. Windows had been smashed and doors hung of their hinges. Vincent passed two other people lying face down in the mud, having met the same fate as Gon. No matter what destruction he passed in the street, nothing could have prepared him for what met him in the town square.

The Mayor's mansion was in flames. Red and yellow tongues licked at the windows, impervious of the rain. All around him, the square was littered with bodies. Most of them were villagers, but several were men and women in black army uniforms.

"Soldier," Vincent whispered. The Turks had obviously planned this attack since the very beginning. They must have wanted the village to turn over Seph, not knowing that he had been found and taken in by three kids. One of which had now added to their number.

Throughout the square, villagers roamed, tending the wounded or covering up the dead. They worked rhythmically, no one saying so much as a word. A hushed silence had descended upon the square, save for the crackling of the flames consuming the mayor's house, which no one was making an attempt to put out. It was a field of battle, and of disaster.

Vincent found what he was looking for immediately. His mother, on her knees before a body. A great lump rose in his throat as he approached, not wanting to see what lay on the ground before him.

"Dad," he croaked, "Dad, no."

His mother looked up. Her face was stained with tears and her eye's held more pain than he even knew existed. She raised a shaking hand. Vincent touched her fingers; she seemed to be making sure he was really there.

"Who did this?" he asked.

His mother had to swallow several times before she answered. "T-That tall woman, from the Turks. She-she shot him."

An image of Erika's haughty figure swam in front of Vincent. A red mist seemed to have descended upon his vision. A strange ringing filled his ears as he straightened up and walked back out of the square.

"Vincent!" His mother's cries followed all the way out of town. "Vincent." No one followed him, no one stopped him, as he walked out of his childhood home; towards empty hills, towards danger, towards revenge.


	5. The Mithril Mines

**Chapter 5 The Mithril Mines**

Hour after hour, mile after mile, Vincent followed their trail. He didn't know how long and far he traveled before his weary body could stand it no longer and he collapsed.

The ground was warm and soggy after the rainfall. He struggled to push himself back up, but his exhausted limbs didn't have enough in them. He had no choice but to remain there, in that field, his body pressed into the muddy earth.

_This is pathetic, _he thought angrily, _I go to take on the bad guys and end up dying before I even find them. I'm gonna get eaten by a monster. _

It was a known fact that the rolling hills and plains of the Overworld were filled with viscous beasts of every variety. Vincent had left Kalm with nothing but a paint-gun, which he had discarded hours ago. He fell into a fitful slumber, expecting never wake up again, so you can imagine his surprise when he opened his eyes to find himself staring up at smooth rock.

"Finally, you're awake," said a nearby voice, "I was afraid we were gonna have to bring you to a doctor, and everyone knows how damn expensive _that_ can be."

A girl stepped into Vincent's field of vision. She was fairly short and thin, her red hair chopped off at her neck. She was dressed in a variety of bright colors and high brown boots. A knife and several pouches hung at her waist.

She pressed a hand against Vincent's sweaty forehead. He jerked away, fairly freaked out by now.

"Okay," she said, stepping back, "Snippy aren't you? Well, your fever's disappeared. You can thank me anytime."

Vincent sat up. The blanket he had been sleeping under slipped off of him to reveal that someone had removed his shirt. He quickly pulled the blanket back up.

The girl giggled. "Calm down. You're wearing pants, or at least you were last time I checked."

Vincent looked up in shock, but then saw that she was joking. He smiled. The girl seemed to take it as encouragement.

"I'm Kai," she offered, sitting down on the foot of the bed.

He instinctually moved away a bit, but answered, "Vincent."

Kai got to her feet and crossed to the other side of the cave. Her numerous bracelets and bangles jingled as she poured something from a china picture into a small earthenware cup. Vincent glanced around at the rest of the cave. Its walls were covered in tapestries and fabrics, colorful and expensive looking. They clashed oddly with the rugged lodgings.

"Here," Kai said, sitting back down and offering him the cup.

Vincent took it and sniffed. It seemed identical to coffee, except that it was blue, not brown. He took a sip and spluttered. It was hot, though there was no steam rising from it.

Kai laughed again. Her voice was rough and mature-sounding for someone of her apparent age and stature. She got up once again and began to dig through a chest pushed up against the rocky wall. She pulled out something and threw it to Vincent. It was a shirt, deep crimson, and shining in the light of the torch that burned close to the ceiling.

"What is this?" Vincent asked.

"A shirt," Kai answered shortly.

He had realized that without her help. What he meant was, 'why are you giving this to me?' Everything was suddenly happening so fast; waking up in a strange place with a strange person inside it, who seemed to have a thing for jokes.

"Put it on," Kai prodded.

Vincent slipped the shirt around his shoulders and buttoned it up to his chest. It was cool and slippery, like liquid spun into cloth. Nice? Yes. Practical? Probably not. He was accustomed to heavy, homespun clothing designed for hard labor and made to last for a long time. He noticed that Kai's clothes' material was similar to the his own shirt, though she probably looked a lot better in it than he did. All his life, his father had gone on about how much more useful practical things were than attractive things. He used to joke about he had been extremely lucky to find Vincent's mother, who was both useful and attractive.

Vincent smiled as he thought this. It was a sad expression, one concealing the pain that was trying to force its way from his chest. It must have been reflected in his eyes, for Kai furrowed her brow and put a tentative hand on his knee. He swatted it away and stood up, furious with himself. He had almost gone to pieces. He backed up into a far corner where to walls of the small cave came together.

"Fine," Kai said, turning her nose up, "Don't take my sympathy."

"I didn't ask for it!" Vincent snapped back. He slid down to the floor. Maybe if he made himself as small as possible, he could disappear. If he tried hard enough, maybe he could keep at bay the grief that threatened to overwhelm him. The room bled into itself as his eyes filled, but he wouldn't let them escape; he wouldn't cry in front of a girl he had never met before. It would be as bad as crying in front of Scarlet…

As the memory of her flashed through his mind, Vincent felt a new emotion rear its head: rage. His hands shook as he saw Gon once again, lying dead in the street. He saw Scarlet standing above him, holding a smoking gun. But no, he couldn't let the anger take over him, not yet.

With a great effort, he fought his emotions back down. He would have his revenge, but in order to do that he would have to find a way out of wherever he was, and to achieve that, he would be forced to cooperate with whoever the hell this girl was. He looked up at her. She was perched on the side of the bed, her hands absently stroking her silky scarf.

"Sorry," he muttered, getting slowly to his feet, "I'm alright now."

Kai searched his face. "Good," she said finally, with just a tinge of injured pride in her voice. She turned back to the pitcher of coffee stuff and poured some more of it into the cup. Handing it to Vincent, she said, "Drink more, it may look like crap, but it really is good for you."

Vincent reached for it, sighing. "Fine, but if I have a caffeine high later, don't blame-," The cup slipped from his sweaty palm, bouncing as it hit the ground. He and Kai looked at each other, then bent down at the exact same time to retrieve it, which resulted in their heads banging together. Vincent reeled back into the cave wall and fell to the ground with a bump.

"What's all the noise?"

A young man had stuck his head the through the opening to the cave. His hair was the same hue as Kai's, and his dancing green eyes had the same shape. He was dressed in similarly colored fabrics and scarves, though in a much manlier fashion. He grinned as he saw Vincent and Kai on the ground.

"I keep telling you, my dear sister, no raping the patients!" Kai looked up and immediately chucked the cup at the man.

"Feisty!" he laughed, barely dodging it. He smiled towards Vincent. "Glad to see you're up and screwing around with my sister."

Vincent jumped quickly to his feet. "W-We weren't doing anything!" he said angrily.

"It's okay," Kai whispered, fighting down a giggle, "He's kidding." To her brother she said, "Can I help you, Kioko?"

The man sidled into the cave. "I was coming to tell you that you should eat something." He turned to Vincent, grinning slyly. "You know, she hasn't left you since you were brought in. Kai's got a thing for pretty boys." Kai made a rude gesture in response to this.

"Pretty boy?" Vincent repeated, his face turning red.

For some reason that Vincent couldn't fathom, Kai seemed to find it extremely funny. She ducked her head and giggled, leaving the two boys to raise their eyebrows in confusion.

"Women," Kioko mouthed, his eyes dancing. Vincent laughed. These two were treating him like an old friend, and they had scarcely met him twenty minutes ago. It was a huge transition; having your entire world torn apart in a night, and then waking up to find something entirely different staring you in the face. Vincent found himself taking a liking to these strange pair immediately, though he wasn't usually an over-trusting type of person. And you never knew. Maybe they could help him with his little revenge venture.

A great booming gong suddenly sounded from somewhere. Vincent jumped. The acoustics in the cave made it impossible to tell how far away it had come from. Kioko and Kai both turned to the rock doorway.

"That's the dinner bell," Kioko announced.

"Really?" Vincent asked eagerly, suddenly realizing how hungry he was.

"Yep," Kai said, "This place is frigging huge. There has to be something to call everyone the hell in."

They left the cave, Kioko leading the way. It opened, not to the outside world as Vincent would have expected, but into a large network of tunnels. It was, as Kai had aptly put it, "frigging huge." Kioko lead them along and seemed to know exactly where he was headed, regardless of the numerous twists and turns. Vincent was glad that someone knew where the heck they were headed, as he would have been immediately lost. For awhile, he tried hard to memorize their route, but quickly had to admit defeat and just follow willingly. Luckily there was plenty to look at. The caves were an incredible natural wonder.

They passed through tunnels so small that they had to walk single file, and through caverns so huge that Vincent felt as though he were about to have an attack of acrophobia. At one point they crossed a natural stone bridge under which a white river rushed. Stalagmites dripped fetid water to the tunnel floor, jutting down like the jagged teeth of some giant beast. Vincent was wondering just what this place was, when they came upon the most incredible sight yet.

One of the longer tunnels was lay completely under a blanket of blue-green crystal. It was like stepping into a hall of mirrors. Vincent watched his reflection bouncing along millions of surfaces, which made him feel faintly sick, so he stopped. The tunnel glowed with a strange green light and the air tasted strange.

Vincent suddenly realized that it wasn't the bouncing images that had made him sick, as a wave of nausea flowed over him. It was like some kind of strange fume was wafting into his system, making his head swim and his muscles tingle. He stumbled and fell to his knees, the ground swaying underneath.

"Get up Vincent, it's only Mithril," Kai said, as she and Kioko pulled him up by the armpits.

"Mithril?" Vincent asked foggily, trying to make himself move forward. It felt like he was trying to walk through pudding.

"Yeah, it's what the Mithril Mines are named after," Kioko answered, his hand still on Vincent's shoulder, "It's a really powerful substance, valuable too, but it can only be harvested by a powerful mage, or someone with powerful mage materia."

The word 'materia' jerked Vincent from the fog he was still marching in. "You guys don't use materia?"

Kai shook her head as Kioko spat on the ground. "That's stuff made by the Shinra, we don't like Shinra. Besides," she shrugged, "Hardly anybody can use it yet so it's not worth much."

A few moments, they had left the hall of crystal behind. Immediately, Vincent felt better. He glanced at Kai and Kioko, neither of which seemed to have been affected by the mithril at all.

"So what's it used for anyway?" he asked.

"It's a performance enhancer," Kioko said knowingly, "You can make some kind of drink thing with it that improves your reflexes and stuff, and just being around it makes you smarter."

"Which is why we're so intelligent," Kai said sarcastically.

"What? Why doesn't it work?" Vincent asked, confused.

"Because," Kai answered with a little skip, "Magic doesn't work on the Mirads of Mithril. We've been exposed to a magical substance for so long that we're immune to it."

_The Mirads of Mithril. _Weirdly, it stirred something in Vincent's memory, as though he had heard tell of Kai's people before. But that wasn't very likely; he would have remembered a race living inside a mine.

"Oh, here we are," Kioko announced.

They had come to the opening of an enormous cavern, bigger than any they had seen yet. It was filled with people. They were all dressed similarly to Kai and Kioko. The smoke of cooking fires curled up to the ceiling of the cavern, escaping through small holes in the rock, through which light entered in its turn. Strewn around the cave were all the signs of a rich existence.

Silks and rugs were strewn about on the rocks, while various nick-knacks were heaped in small piles. Meat roasted on spits over small cooking fires. Gold hoops glittered on the people's ears and jewels glittered around their necks. It was an entire (wealthy) tribe living in the mines.

And suddenly, Vincent understood who these people were. And he realized where he had heard of them before. A couple seasons back, Kalm village had been attacked. In just two days they had been hit by several offensive strikes. They raiders had stolen food, valuables, livestock, and even several children. And now Vincent had found them.

He had walked into a den of bandits.

Well, not exactly walked into, more like brought into. They were a dangerous looking bunch, he saw as he followed Kai and Kioko through the cavern. Many of them were tattooed and scarred and some had eyes or fingers missing. All the finery they sat among must have been the takings from the last raid they went on.

True, Vincent was no longer lying in a heap on the plains, but this wasn't the best situation either. From the looks of things, he had been pulled out of the frying pan and dumped in the fire.


	6. Lost and Found Again

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the FF characters, they belong to Square Enix. (Though I do have Cloud tied up in my closet. Heh heh)

Author's note: Alright, here I am prepared to answer a couple of the questions that I have been asked frequently.

No, this will not be a Vincent/Sephiroth slash. I have seen too many of those.

I do realize that I have made Vincent and Seph more or less the same age. That will be explained in due time.

Kioko and Kai were not in the game. Duh

Chapter 6: Lost and Found Again

The pounding in the back of his head was ghastly familiar. Seph didn't know how many times that spell had been used on him; it was one of Erika's favorites. Cast it on the victim and they would follow you willingly with no later memory of the journey at all. (And no memory of whether or not they had been treated humanly) They could be miles from Kalm village by now.

He had come to lying on the lumpy ground, staring at the blank canvas of a tent. There weren't any visible restraints holding him down, but Seph knew he might as well have been chained to a post. There were tons of ways to keep someone from moving, magic being only one of them. Erika knew were you could get Novocain cheap.

Seph lay there, thinking really hard. The last thing he remembered was waking up to Reno's leering face. He hated that kid, and if he ever was in the same room with his hands free…Well, he would let Reno go if it meant getting Erika. What he felt for her was beyond hate, it was pure loathing. And she had caught him. Again.

Seph grimaced stiffly. It had been his own fault. What had he been thinking, sleeping out in the open like that? He should have run for the coast while he still had the chance. Spending the night in Kalm had been stupid, but there had been those kids…They had been nice, hadn't hit him or thrown things at him or done anything else that people usually did when they found him on their land. Vincent, the dark-haired one, he had actually let Seph come inside…

_Why couldn't I be like them? _He thought despairingly, _why couldn't I just be happy, instead of some freak... _

The wind suddenly picked up, snapping the canvas back and forth. When it died down, Seph thought he could make out the sounds of a camp. That meant his senses were returning; it always took a little while after waking up from that spell.

A cold, familiar voice could suddenly be heard above the wind.

"So, how far behind is our Mr. Valentine anyway?"

Seph turned his head so as to hear better. Who was Mr. Valentine? Was it just another of those scientists the clinic was always hiring, or could it be someone trying to rescue him? Erika didn't sound unduly worried, and it wouldn't be worth it to hope. If he was going to escape, he would need to do it on his own.

And, judging from the skill of his hunters, Seph would be running until he was dead.

"Are you alright?"

Vincent had stopped in his tracks. He felt like a trapped animal being honed in on by a predator. Here he was, smack dab in the middle of a den of thieves. He had been an idiot not to realize it before. Where else would Kai have gotten all that jewelry and nice clothes? And she and Kioko had been constantly talking about money and things being 'worth it'.

"W-What?" he stammered. His dad had always told him stories about bandits and the raiders that lived in the southern hills of the continent. They were supposed to be harsh, merciless, cold killers. So why wasn't he dead?

He turned back to his new, so-called friends. Kai looked slightly confused, but Kioko just looked pissed.

"Oops, bad move, Kai." The normal, lighthearted tone Vincent had come to associate with him was gone.

Kai glanced at her brother. Kioko smiled wryly, continuing, "It seems that young Vincent has put three and three together."

Kai winced. "Crap. I thought maybe we could explain it before he figured it out."

Vincent turned back to them. "You're bandits," he said, his voice shaking slightly. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Hmmm…" Kioko said, feigning confusion, "Maybe it's because, uh, you'd freak out if we told you. Everybody does."

Vincent didn't answer, just ran. Past Kioko and Kai, back into the tunnels. He didn't have a clue where he was going, or where he was running to, he just wanted to get out of the Mithril Mines as quickly as was humanly possible.

"I-have-the-worst-luck," he gasped as he ran.

"I'll say."

Vincent skidded to a halt. Somehow, Kioko had managed to beat him to the exit. It wasn't surprising, as he must have spent all of his life in the caves and Vincent had been there less than a day. In just a few strides, he was blocking Vincent's way forward. His expression was everything but friendly.

"Where are you going?" he asked, his voice emotionless.

"Away," Vincent spat.

"Without even a thank you? My sister helped you, she saved your life. She didn't have to, you're worthless to her." He smirked. "Well, maybe worth one good fling, but apart from that…"

Whatever shreds of respect Vincent still retained for Kioko and his sister evaporated. Who were they to tell him he was worthless? They were the one's that raided towns and killed innocent people. They were bandits, not exactly honorable people.

'Get out of my way," Vincent demanded, his voice shaking with anger. There was no way anyone was keeping him here. He had to get out and find Erika and save Seph.

Kioko didn't move.

Vincent took a deep breath, and charged straight for him, hopping Kioko wouldn't stand his ground. But before he could push him out of the way, his shoulder exploded with pain. He yelled and tripped forward, his momentum carrying him crashing into the cave wall. He rolled over, his vision wavering. Kai was standing over him, her hand still raised. Somehow, she had managed to dislocate his shoulder as he ran by.

"Don't touch my brother," she said, her voice cold. She lowered her arm and her tone changed. "I'm sorry, Vince, but I can't just let you go. The Overworld, it's a fucking dangerous place."

Vincent thought that it was a bit stupid of her, worrying about him getting hurt when she had just incapacitated him herself. But something in her eyes told him that she was dead serious. Kai really did care if he lived or died. It was strange, and it was also a little too much for Vincent's pain-laden mind to deal with at the moment.

"Hey, Kai," Kioko called, from over near the tunnel exit, "I'm gonna go see what's for dinner. Can you handle things here?"

"I got it," Kai answered, not taking her eyes off Vincent's face.

Kioko left, his footsteps echoing loudly against the stone walls. Vincent was having a whole lot of trouble staying conscious. He found that the only way to stop himself from slipping away into the dark see that was lapping at his mind, was keeping contact with Kai's bright green eyes.

"Ouch," he gasped, "Do you think you c-could teach me how to d-do that?"

Kai laughed. "'Course, but first I got to fix you. Can you sit up?"

Vincent tried to comply, at the same time marveling at how Kai's mood had changed in just a minute. Was she bipolar or something? Just a moment ago it had seemed like she was going to kill him, and now she was going to heal the wound she had inflicted.

He finally managed to pull himself into a resting position against the stone wall, almost fainting in the process. Kai sat down beside him. A knife had suddenly appeared in her hand. Vincent winced, but all she did was cut a slit down his shirt, reducing it to tatters. She could now reach his shoulder to heal it.

"Damn," she said, her breath coming in a sharp hiss, "I really did a good job this time." She put two fingers on the joint between Vincent's shoulder and upper arm. He yelled and tried to push her off with his other hand.

"Stop that," Kai snapped, slapping his hand away. An apologetic tone came into her voice. "Uh, I think I my have torn your muscle too…"

Vincent groaned. "Perfect, great, just fix it!"

"Okay, okay, hold your Chocobos."

Vincent screwed up his eyes. He had no idea what she was going to do, but he imagined that it was going to hurt a lot. Bracing himself, he waited. But all he felt was a sort of cool breeze ripple across the bruised skin. He opened his eyes.

Kai was kneeling beside him, her face fierce with concentration. Her fingers rested on his shoulder, but they didn't hurt like they had a moment ago. A very slight blue glow was seeping from her hand into his skin. Vincent could actually _feel _it mending the torn muscle. It wasn't a very pleasant sensation, but it wasn't unbearable. Suddenly, his whole right side jumped as the shoulder popped back into its socket. Kai dropped her hands, the blue light weakening and finally dying.

"There you go, good as new."

"Thanks," Vincent said, barely able to believe it. He had never seen magic ever preformed that cavalierly.

"I thought you said you didn't use Materia."

"I don't, I did that on my own," Kai explained, hoisting Vincent to his feet. "Not everyone needs Materia, it's just something some assholes came up with to give everyone the chance to do everything. It pisses me off."

"Why?" Vincent asked.

They set off down the same tunnel Kioko had taken. Vincent's shoulder was still a bit sore, but other than that he felt better than he had in a long time.

"Oh, you know," Kai said, evidently searching for the right words, "Everyone has something they can do better than other people, right? Some people are smarter, some people are stronger, and some people can channel magic. Materia gets rid of all that. With Materia, what is there to separate me from the next idiot that bumbles along?"

Vincent didn't have an answer for that. Kai seemed quite bitter on the subject of Materia. Either he was wrong, or there were some sour grapes involved. Maybe she had tried to be fitted for materia and her body had rejected it. He had heard that could sometimes happen.

"Hey, I'm sorry I freaked out like that," he said, staring at the rocky floor.

"Yeah, that was kind of fucking rude," Kai said, making Vincent feel even worse. She must have seen his face, because she sighed. "But really, I don't blame you."

Vincent looked up. "You don't?"

Kai shook her head. "No. It's understandable, considering."

Vincent was flooded with relief. Kai wasn't mad at him, so she most likely wouldn't be dislocating any more of his limbs. At the same time, a voice spoke in his ear. It was the small, infinitely annoying voice that tends to speak up at the most inopportune times .

_She's a bandit. Why do you give a crap what she thinks? _

It was a good question, Vincent would give the little voice that much. Now that his shoulder was healed, he should be making all speed in the direction of the exit, not going off to dinner. He probably would have eaten already if he had been home…

And suddenly, it happened. He didn't know why he hadn't felt it before; maybe it had been the shock, or perhaps the fact that he had a goal in mind. He was going to find Erika and kill her. But now that that goal had been interrupted and placed on the sidelines for a moment, everything hit Vincent like a dead weight. His father and Gon were dead. His town was destroyed. Scarlet had betrayed him.

Vincent collapsed on the tunnel floor, shaking. He shouldn't be able to move, he shouldn't be able to breath. His whole world had been killed back there in Kalm. Why wasn't he dead as well? All the grief that his subconscious had been holding back for the past thirty-six hours had suddenly enveloped him. He was only vaguely aware of Kai kneeling beside him, calling his name and cursing, calling for help.

"God dammit, Vincent, what's your problem?" she demanded, shaking him. "What the crap is wrong with you? You're a frigging high maintenance dude, you know that?"

Vincent didn't respond. He heard Kai, but it didn't seem worth answering her. Besides, it felt like, if he opened his throat, he would choke on the tears that threatened to overflow.

_Good God, _he thought, _I'm acting like a little girl. _

He felt something weird just then. It was a bit like the healing spell Kai had used on him earlier, but heavier; honey instead of water. Evidently, it was some kind of charm, for Vincent found himself sitting on the edge of the bed in the small cave with no recollection of having got there. Kai was sitting on a stool across from him.

"Welcome back to the land of the sane," she said, a small frown curling her lips down.

Vincent turned away.He felt like an idiot. How could he have gone to pieces like that, and in front of Kai, no less. What she must think of him now…She was used to big, tough bandits, not little crybaby farm boys.

What had he done wrong? He was a good kid. He helped his parents at home, he wasn't a mako addict, and he got good grades in school. And now, one of his parents was dead, his town had been destroyed, and his best friend had betrayed him and killed his other friend.

Needless to say, it had been the worst weekend in a long time.

He could feel Kai's eyes boring into his back like a laser. He wished she would just say something, or make of fun of him, get it all over with. Anything would be better than this amazingly oppressive silence.

"So what, are you gonna tell me what the hell is going on?"

Vincent hadn't been expecting that. "What?" he asked, turning around slightly.

Kai crossed her arms. "Well, you're treating me like an annoyance, while I'm the one who saved you from the Overworld, gave you clothing, somewhere to sleep, and I healed your shoulder."

"You're the one who tore it in the first place!"

"That's beside the point," Kai said, waving her hand in a dismissive gesture.

"But you…we…it…." Vincent groaned. The words weren't coming to him. "Ugghh, you know what I mean."

Kai grinned a bit. "It's really weird, I think I actually do." Her smile grew wider. "You kinda made an ass of yourself back there."

"Thanks," Vincent said.

"No problem."

Vincent laughed. It sounded strange coming from his own mouth. A few minutes (or hours, he didn't really know how long it had been) ago, the world had seemed so black that he didn't think he would ever laugh again. But now he realized something. He wasn't beaten yet. He would get his revenge.

Of course, he should probably wait until he could walk a few feet without getting dizzy before pursuing that goal. But then there was the problem of Erika and her entourage getting too far ahead…

"Crap," he muttered.

Kai wrinkled her forehead. "Crap? What's crappy?"

Vincent shrugged. "It's nothing, not really."

"Liar."

"I'm not…it's not really that interesting." Vincent wished she would just leave him alone.

Kai, on the other hand, felt like talking. She crossed her arms and made a face. "Fine, well at least you can give me a reason you were lying half-dead on the Overworld."

"That would involve me telling you the uninteresting thing too, then," Vincent said, a bit spitefully.

"I've got nowhere to be."

So he told her. Everything. About the Turks, Seph, and about Scarlet. She stayed quiet for most of the tale, though she did look like she wanted to say something when he mentioned Erika. When Vincent got to the part where he had fainted on the Overworld, he lapsed into silence. Kai seemed at a loss for words, which, as Vincent was beginning to realize, was rare.

"Vince, I'm sorry," she gasped, the horror of what she had heard still on her face.

"It's 'Vincent'," Vincent told her, "Not Vince." Gon and Scarlet had called him Vince. His mother and father had called him Vince. Vince was gone now.

"Alright, whatever," Kai agreed. She stood up and stretched. "Uhhgg. I haven't done anything all day. I got tons 'a energy. You wanna go for a walk?"

Vincent was tempted to say "what, tearing my shoulder not strenuous enough for you?" but it would probably be better just to leave things as they were. A walk didn't sound like a bad idea. He was used to getting a great deal of exercise on a regular basis. Working on a farm everyday was no mean feat. Sitting around for any long period of time had a tendency to get Vincent a little antsy.

"Sure," he said lightly, as though he could convince himself he was happy if he tried hard enough.

He followed Kai from the cave-room. She had started in the opposite direction that Kioko had taken to the cavern. These tunnels didn't look much different from the other ones, except for the fact that they seemed to be much lighter. He wondered if they were closer to the surface.

Eventually, they reached another cavern. This one was just as wide as the main one, but it was much lower and completely empty. Here and there, there were large holes and fissures in the ceiling, letting in light that made glowing patterns on the cave floor. Kai started for the far wall. At the very edge of the cave there was a particularly large hole in the ceiling. This one had a rope trailing down from it.

"Can you climb?" Kai asked. There was not much hope in her tone.

Vincent grinned inwardly. Time to prove her wrong. With one small bound he grabbed the rope, making it almost halfway up from one single jump. He instantly regretted showing off as his shoulder twinged. For a second he thought he had caused some serious damage, but it seemed Kai's spell had done a good job. He scaled the length of the rope easily.

He emerged onto something truly incredible. The rope had led up to a sort of bowl formed by the mountains rearing up on all four sides. It was barely four yards in diameter, and at the far end was a flight of crudely chiseled steps, curving up the side of mountain. There seemed to be some time of watchtower at the end of them. But the real thing of interest out here was the sky. The sun had begun to set, turning the sky into a palette of colors. Blue, purple, red, orange. Vincent didn't think he'd ever seen such an amazing sunset.

"Pretty, huh?" Kai asked, emerging at his shoulder. Vincent nodded wordlessly.

"Come on," Kai said, putting a foot on the first stone step. Vincent followed. It was very difficult to continue to look at the sky, as it took all of his concentration to avoid from seriously injuring himself on the crumbling staircase. Kai herself seemed to know the path like the back of her hand, and could actively avoid all of the traps, but Vincent found himself tripping, sliding down one step for every three he took.

Kai reached the watchtower well before he did. Turning around, she sat on the edge, grinning at him. Vincent didn't see what was so funny. His shins hurt and his shoulder was beginning to throb again.

"Doing okay?" Kai asked, as he pulled himself up the last few steps.

"Absolutely fantastic," he panted in response, giving her a look that was meant to portray his annoyance, but all it did was make her laugh.

"You're frigging funny when you're pissed, Vince." It seemed Kai had ignored his request to be called by his full name and insisted upon using "Vince." It didn't bother him as much as he would have expected it to.

He sat down beside her. They now had an even better view of the sunset, which had merged from pastels to deep, rich color. From up on the watchtower, Vincent felt like he could see the whole world. There were the rolling hills of the Overworld, and there was Kalm village. It seemed he had traveled a lot farther in a day than he had thought.

Turning slightly to the west, he could make out a haze of smoke in the distance. That must have been Midgar City, with its infinite factories and reactors sullying the sky. Once upon a time, it had been a place he longed to go, but now, it seemed like all his hopes and dreams had been wiped clean, to leave him with nothing with harsh, brutal reality.

Kai tapped him on the shoulder and pointed farther to the west. Vincent followed her gaze. Some huge, bizarrely shaped structure stood against the horizon. Behind it, miles and miles away, the sea sparkled in the waning light.

"That's Fort Condor," Kai informed him.

Vincent squinted. He couldn't exactly make out the tower; it was blocked by the glare of the setting sun. Fort Condor: The place Erika and the Turks were making for.

"How far away is it?" he asked. Something like hope was beginning to stir in his stomach. Maybe he really could make it all the way to the fort and save Seph.

"About two days, less if you had some kind of vehicle."

Vincent nodded. It felt good to suddenly have a goal in sight, a destination. He had a sudden urge to leave, just get on his way. He wished he could sprout wings and leap from the mountain top, covering the distance between them and the fort in a matter of minutes.

As his wing-sprouting skills were a little less than was to be desired, he resisted that urge. Instead he began to get up.

"I have to get going, I need to-,"

Kai put a hand on his arm, her grip surprisingly strong for a girl of her size. "Don't be an idiot," she said dryly, as though she knew it couldn't be helped, "You're tired out, you haven't eaten anything in a long time, and you have absolutely no plan."

"Plan, what do you mean plan?" Vincent asked sheepishly. He hadn't thought things through and they both knew it.

Kai rolled her eyes. "What, were you expecting to just run in there, guns a'blazing? You'll get your ass kicked in a millisecond." She dropped his wrist. "You need some sort of strategy."

Vincent sighed and sat back down. She was right. It would be no good to just barge into the fort and get killed; that would do no good to anyone.

"Are there a whole lot of troops in Fort Condor?" he inquired, trying to sound as though he knew about this planning stuff.

Kai shook her head, earrings jingling. "That's just it; 'fort' is a misnomer. It's really just a little town, kind of pathetic really, not anything to steal at all." She gave Vincent an apologetic look. "Sorry, that's probably not what you want to here. Anyway, it doesn't really make sense that Erika and co. are going to Condor. Only people who go there are traders and stuff like that."

"Well, that's what I heard her say," Vincent assured Kai, "Could she have been lying?"

"Probably not," Kai answered promptly, "There wouldn't really be any point, would there? You were lying on the ground half unconscious, and she wouldn't expect you to come after her."

"Why not?" Vincent asked, surprised.

"You don't understand how these people's minds work, Vincent." Kai played aimlessly with her bangles as she spoke. "They see themselves as the elite, the few humans in the world who are good for anything. Everyone else means absolutely nothing to them. Killing someone is no big deal, because it doesn't touch them, it's just another body in the masses. Scum like Erika can't comprehend that they're halfway decent people like you in the world who are willing to do anything for what they know is right."

Vincent was silent while he listened. Kai spoke clearly and confidently, without the usual cursing and joking around that seemed to accompany most of her dialogue. He was beginning to get a good understanding of what this girl was all about.

"Is that what I am?" he pondered aloud, "Someone willing to do anything for what I know is right?"

"I guess so," Kai said, dropping back into her normal, lazy tone, "I guess we'll have to wait and see."

"Hold on, we?" Vincent was suddenly on his feet. "You are definitely not coming with me!"

Kai stood up herself, a spark coming to her vivid green eyes. "Oh, I so am, buddy. You wouldn't last a goddamn day without me. Farm boy," she added obnoxiously.

"B-But it's gonna be really bad, it's gonna be…" Vincent searched for words. "Not fun."

Kai had begun to climb back down the crumbling steps. "Hey, sounds like a lot more fun than I'm likely to get around here. When do we leave?" she called back.

Vincent turned back to the sunset, which was almost non-existent by that time. "First light," he answered.


	7. Lile

Disclaimer: None of the FF7 characters belong to me. Though Vincent and I are very close friends.

Author's note: Thank you everyone who has left me a review. Or five! It's amazing to find people pleased with your work, especially when they seem pleased with it on multiple chapters. You guys keep me going!

Chapter 7

Lile

Vincent wasn't having much luck getting to sleep. His room back at home in Kalm was in a building made of wood, and he was used to the sounds of the old house settling down after a day spent in the sunlight. The cave inside the Mithril Mines was completely silent. No wind whistling through the trees outside, no fire crackling in the grate, no hushed voices echoing from along the hall as his parents prepared for bed. Whoever says that it's difficult to sleep with noise is wrong; it's the silence pressing down on your eardrums that can really keep you up.

Vincent tossed, and he turned. He tried counting sheep. When that didn't work he tried counting Chocobos, but that didn't help much either. He just couldn't get his mind and muscles to relax. There was too much approaching in the near future. He and Kai would be leaving for Fort Condor, and almost certain catastrophe.

Vaguely, he wondered if Kai was having as much trouble sleeping as he was. Probably not; she was used to adventure. For a fleeting second, Vincent imagined what it would be like if he had grown up with the Mirads instead of in Kalm. Would he be like Kai, tough, bold, and infinitely capable? A mental image of himself standing atop a hill in front of a rabble of bandits swam before his eyes. He smiled slightly as his fantasy self drew a knife, bangles and earrings glinting in the sunlight.

_Yeah right, _he thought, chuckling.

The truth was, he was scared to death of the residents of the Mine. What was to stop one of them from slipping in quietly when he was asleep and slitting his throat? Kioko didn't seem to like him very much…

And with that, Vincent knew he wasn't getting any rest that night. He threw off the thin blanket and began to lace up his boots. He grabbed his shirt of the chair he had tossed it on a couple hours ago, then stood up. Then he sat back down on the bed. Where the hell was he going? He didn't know the caves at all, and he was likely to go stumbling around in the darkness until on of the bandits found him and ended his misery permanently.

Vincent ran his fingers through his hair, which was getting quite long. It now reached just passed his shoulders. His hair had been one of the few things he and his parents didn't agree on. His father had always told him that it made him look like a girl, and his mom said that he would get it stuck in the plow one. He had always just laughed. If he could go back, he would never laugh at his parents again.

"I miss you, dad," he whispered, wiping his palms across his eyes. A moment later he sat bolt upright, his ears, so strained from the silence, catching something. Someone was coming, pacing along the tunnel outside.

Vincent looked wildly around for some sort of weapon. There was nothing in the room but the bed, the chest, and himself, none of which he could very well pick up and toss at whoever was coming. Instead, he leaned down and unlaced one of his boots.

He felt like an idiot, standing there next to the door holding a boot over his head. It would have to do, as there wasn't really anything else he could use. The footsteps were getting closer. Vincent felt a cold sweat break out on the back of his neck. A shadow loomed up against the cave wall. He felt his body tense.

"Holy shit, Vince, don't kill me."

Vincent had just enough muscle control to stop himself before he brought the boot down on Kai's head. She was looking at him as though she were insane, and no wonder; he was standing there with footwear held up in defense. He suddenly felt like even more of an idiot than previously.

"A shoe?" Kai wanted to know.

Vincent didn't answer, just breathed a sigh of relief. It had been kind of stupid to freak out like that. Of course it would have been Kai. She was dressed all in black. Slung over her shoulder was a large sack, making her look like a kind of warped, female Santa Clause. She slung it onto the bed, sitting down beside it.

"You couldn't sleep either?" she asked, undoing the cord on the sack's neck.

Vincent shook his head. He suddenly felt a lot better about himself. If Kai was worried about the future, then it definitely was something worth staying up for.

"What are you doing?" he asked, indicating the sack. Kai dumped it out onto the bed.

"I was thinking," she began, sifting through the contents, "Since neither of us can sleep, why we don't just leave now?"

Her face was shining with excitement. In the strange light that seemed to hang over all of the Mithril Mines, her pale skin made her look almost like a ghost. It was only then that Vincent realized how eager she really was to help him. Or maybe it wasn't because of him, maybe she just wanted a change in her life's pattern. It had been something Vincent had always wanted; now he regretted ever wishing for it. He sincerely hoped that Kai wouldn't be rudely awakened to her dreams the same way he had.

"What do you say?" Kai urged, "Let's leave now!"

Vincent hesitated. He was anxious to get after Erika and Seph, but still, he couldn't shake the fear of the future that gnawed at his stomach.

"What have you got there?" he asked, more to postpone answering the question than anything else.

"Stuff," Kai said. She chucked something at him. It was a long coat, blood red with silver fastenings. It looked too big and too grand for him.

"Where did you get this?"

Kai shrugged. "Took it off some rich guy heading to Midgar. Put it on, you look good in red."

Vincent seriously doubted that, but he didn't say anything. Instead he slipped his arms into the coat, and was surprised at how light and comfortable it was. It had looked like the robe of a king, but he felt normal in it. Better than normal, he felt _cool. _It was embarrassing to admit, but Vincent liked the way he looked in the small mirror hung in the cave wall.

"Yep, very hot," Kai said, with the air of someone commenting on the weather, "Here, have this too, Gorgeous." She tossed something else at him. Vincent caught it, feeling the cold metal under his fingers. He knew what it was without looking at it.

A gun. It was silver and black and looked very new. It fit in his hand well, as though it had been made for him. Turning it over, he saw that there was a red "V" emblazoned on the barrel. He froze. _Had_ it been made for him?

Kai must have seen the shock on his face, because she explained, "I personally took that off a member of the Shinra. Guess his name started with a v too. That's a real nice piece 'a hardware there. Newest model outta Shinra co."

Vincent looked at the gun in his hand. It was a far cry from the paint guns he was used to using back in Kalm. As he held it, a slight sinking sensation filled his stomach. True, he was a pretty good shot, but he had never actually aimed a weapon at anyone with the purpose to kill. He wasn't sure that he could. Of course, he mentioned none of this to Kai, just slid the gun into the belt that she handed him. There was no need for her to know of his misgivings.

"Are we leaving now, then?" he asked, trying to stop his voice from shaking.

Kai nodded, jumping up from the bed and wrapping her cloak tightly around her thin frame. Vincent noticed that she had two pistols thrust into her belt and a shape underneath the cloak that had to be a sword. She seemed to be full of energy, regardless of the late hour.

"Let's go," she agreed.

They stole through the tunnels, Vincent following Kai's lead. All was silent except for the occasional drip, drip, drip of some tiny unseen water source winding its way down the cavern walls. The luminescent Mithril was enough to light their way, though Vincent made sure to stay as far away from the glowing green crystal. It still made him feel a little nauseated.

As they walked, he couldn't help thinking about Scarlet. It was strange; he still had nothing but hatred for her and wouldn't rest until he repaid her for what she had done to Gon, but still his thoughts turned her way.

_What could she be thinking? _He wondered, _Does she really have any idea what she's doing? _

It all came back to Erika, if it hadn't been for the leader of the Turks, everything would still be the way it was supposed to be. His father would be alive and Vincent, Gon, and Scarlet would all still be best friends, playing their silly games of warfare in the fields around Kalm. His life wouldn't be completely screwed up, and neither would Seph's. He had no idea why Erika was after the silver-haired boy, but whatever it was it couldn't be pleasant.

"Hey," he called, attempting to catch up with the girl in front of him, "Do we have a plan?"

Kai turned her head. "What?"

"I asked if we had a plan. You said you would be the brains of the operation."

Something uncomfortable flashed across Kai's face. "Bull shit, I never said that."

Vincent was about to argue, when he was interrupted by the sudden cold, fresh air caressing his face. They had come to the end of the tunnel. They were out.

He took a deep breath. The air tasted sweet and clean, as though it has just rained. The dark night sky was scattered with stars and seemed a lot bigger than Vincent remembered it. Maybe he had just never really looked up before. They had emerged onto the Overworld Plains. In the darkness they looked as forbidding as anything could. He suddenly wished he hadn't agreed to Kai's idea to leave before morning.

"Where to now?" he asked with a sigh.

Kai didn't answer right away. She was staring around as though she had lost something. Vincent didn't take it as a very good sign.

"I-I'm not exactly sure," she admitted, "I've never actually been out this way. Just give me a second…"

"Great," Vincent said in frustration, throwing up his hands and kicking the rock wall, "We're two steps out of the Mines and already we're lost!"

"Clam down, you idiot," Kai said distractedly. She had pulled something small out of the pocket of her cloak. It seemed to be a compass, but the arrow wasn't pointing north. In fact, it wasn't pointing anywhere. There was no arrow. But it obviously meant something to Kai, because she stuffed it back into her cloak and pointed ahead of them.

"That's west. We have to go northwest, so we'll make for that over there." She pointed along the horizon at a grove of trees a couple miles a way from their where they stood. "We'll use it as a landmark."

Vincent nodded passively. "Okay."

He really had no choice but to follow. There was no place of Kalm and the surrounding countryside that he didn't know, but anywhere else and he was utterly lost.

As it turned out, the copse was a lot farther off than he had first imagined. Maybe it had been some trick of the light (or lack thereof) or simply bad distance estimation. The sky was already tinged with gold by the time they reached the edge of the trees. There, they discovered that it was more of a forest than a grove. They rested there for a few hours, then continued on their way.

There is nothing greatly relevant to mention about their journey to Fort Condor. It was in truth, a generic trudge across the plains. The only thing worthy of putting down on paper was how well Vincent began to enjoy Kai's company. By the time their trip was nearing the end of the second day, he was immensely thankful that he had passed out on the Overworld. He never would have made it without Kai and her bandit resources.

Whatever they ended up needing, food, flint, knives, anything, she would reveal it hidden in her pack. After awhile, Vincent began to wonder how much she had actually stolen from the Mirads, though they were her own people so it technically didn't count as stealing. She also knew the trails to take through the woods between the mines and Fort Condor. Vincent would have been hopelessly lost in the twisting kingdoms of greenery, but Kai was definitely an outdoor girl.

"That's Condor," she said finally.

They were crouched behind some weird-looking rock formation that looked kind of light a cluster of slate grey grapes. Some of the grapes were hollow, so they could peer out at the mountain. For that was what it was; Fort Condor was a stronghold. According to Kai it had once been used as a fortress, but now was just used as a trading outpost for merchants who traveled from one continent to the other to sell their wares.

Vincent could think of no good reason why Erika would go there. She seemed more hardcore than that. What was the point of going to a trader's den when you were in the kidnapping business?

"Hey," he nudged Kai suddenly, something springing to mind, "Does the slave trade deal in Condor?"

"What?" Kai demanded, her face turning an angry red, "Of course not! We've driven slavery from this continent!"

Vincent raised an eyebrow. "We?"

Kai turned around and leaned her back against the rocks. "The Mirads had a lot to do with sending the last slavers running for their useless lives. Fucking assholes," she added.

Vincent squinted in confusion. "But you're bandits…"

Kai fixed him with her piercing green gaze. "Your point? We live outside the law, Vince, but we're not inhuman." She slammed her fist down on the dirt ground. "That's just like the Shinra! They're the only law around, and they make my people out to be murderers!"

Vincent nodded. Now that he thought about, most of the hype he had heard about the Mirads of Mithril had been somehow connected to the Shinra. The attack on Kalm a year ago hadn't resulted in anyone being killed exactly…except the soldiers that the Shinra had claimed had died defending the village. Vincent couldn't recall there ever being any soldiers there. He had just never really thought about it. Shinra had demanded compensation for the loses in the form of property…which they had begun to build a reactor on…

"I think I understand," he said.

"Good," Kai said. "And by the way, why the slave question?"

Vincent shrugged. "I was thinking that maybe Seph had been captured for the market…I don't know."

"No," Kais answered thoughtfully, "Whatever it is, it's probably much, much worse."

Before Vincent could ask what was worse than slavery, Kai climbed to her feet. "We should get moving. Condor closes its gates at sunset."

He followed her as they began the last short leg of their journey. The mountain fort rose craggy and abrupt before them, commanding all attention in the surrounding vicinity. Vincent could see how it had been a good stronghold in war. From the days back in Kalm (it seemed lifetimes ago) when he had spent his time planning out movements for their games, he had a small idea of battle tactics. The mountain offered a superb view of the surrounding countryside in all four compass directions. He could make out gun ports in the side of the rocky walls, and even the slopes had plenty of hiding places. The only downside could possibly be that it could be easily held to siege, but that had probably already been solved by tunnels.

As they drew closer, iron gates unattached themselves from the shadows. They looked quite formidable, with huge spikes and thick beams, but they stood fully open, and not even a guard was posted. Well, at least not a visible guard.

Vincent noticed that Kai had fastened her cloak around her tightly. She was obviously trying to hide her clothing. Not many people would be able to recognize a bandit, but there was no use in inviting trouble by being careless. He in his turn adjusted the his coat so that it covered the gun in his belt.

Past the gate there was a road of sorts. It was unpaved and rocky and led uphill, but Vincent could see the path that the feet of the ages had carved out. He and Kai followed it, becoming quickly tired by the incline. It seemed like whoever had chosen to make this path had purposefully meandered along the toughest course possible.

"This is stupid," Vincent grumbled at one point, as he yet again paused to catch his breath.

"You're out of shape, man," Kai laughed, though she was panting as well.

"How to traders get their goods up this thing?"

"I don't have a frigging clue, Vince, I've never been here before. There's probably another way up, but we want to keep as low a profile as possible until we find the Turks."

"Until? What do we do after we find them?" Vincent asked.

"What do you think? We become very high profile. We want them to know that it was us who killed them."

Her face was red from climbing, but Kai had a hard resolve shining from her eyes. Vincent couldn't help wondering why she cared so much. It was his world that had been torn apart by Erika and Co, not hers. But she was helping him; putting her very life in danger. Vincent hadn't thought he would ever have friends that good.

The sun was on its very last blaze, sending deep gold light arching over the mountain, bathing them with its glory. Vincent began to tire of climbing very quickly. He wondered where the heck everyone was. All they had seen so for was a rocky path carving its way up the slope. Was there really a whole town here? He hadn't seen any sign of one, but Kai had assured him that there was a thriving community in the old fort. He was just about to mention this strangeness, when his ears finally caught something.

It was like a strange buzzing sound, and it took Vincent a few moments to realize that it was the buzzing of conversation. The buzzing of a lot of conversation. Yells and calls sounded from what seemed to be inside the very mountain itself. The path maneuvered itself around a particularly large pile of rocks, and the two suddenly found themselves faced by a door in the rock wall. They exchanged a look.

"Ready?" Kai asked. "We don't know that we're going to find in there."

"Ready."

Kai leaned her shoulder against the door and threw it open. She drew her knife and leapt through, Vincent on her tail. They were stopped immediately by the sight before them. They had burst in on a market day.

It was a cavern, like many in the Mithril Mines, except it was open to the night sky above. There were huge throngs of people, wandering here and there, between stalls that had been set up on the top of the mountain. Vincent understood why traders made stops here; it was a regular hornet's nest of commerce. The stalls seemed to sell everything from food to large birds.

Kai narrowed her eyes and slid her knife back home. No one seemed to have seen them emerge from the little side door. There was a larger, apparently more-used thoroughfare cut into the cavern wall. It led into the depths of the mountain. Vincent was beginning to get thoroughly sick of caves. They made him feel incredibly caged.

"What the hell is this?" he asked, turning to Kai, as though it were all her fault, "How are we supposed to find in Erika in the middle of this?"

"I-I didn't realize it would be like this," the bandit admitted, running her fingers through her hair and making it stand on end, "Shit, this is going to be like finding a needle in a frigging haystack."

Vincent sighed. They had made it and what had they found? More obstacles.

"I guess we might as well ask around. I'm sure people would notice if the Turks were here. They aren't very unobtrusive."

Kai agreed, and the two of them waded out into the teeming masses of people. There was a huge mixture of races and classes represented. Northerners, heavyset and dark-haired; the Malik, a smaller, quick-eyed and fair-skinned race from the southern Islands. Vincent saw the very rich, with there fancy clothing and purses full of gold, and the poorer, lees fortunate people of the Planet, dressed in homespuns and un-tanned leather. Adults roamed through the stalls, scanning for the best purchases for their money, while children scampered underfoot.

Vincent found the whole place intoxicating. He had been to markets before, but nothing like this. This one was under the stars, on the top of a mountain. "Wow…I don't know what to say."

"Don't say anything," Kai advised, carving her way through a gaggle of older, rather frazzled looking women, "This is nothing special."

Vincent didn't answer. He had been suddenly distracted. There, a little way ahead of them, strolling along a row of stalls selling leather goods and weaponry (ranging from spears to guns) was someone with hair as red as Kai's. Redder even, and tied back into a long ponytail. Vincent remembered seeing the owner of that hair dragging a drugged Seph around the house…

He grabbed Kai's elbow, stopping her. She tripped over her feet and cursed.

"Dammit. What?"

Vincent pointed. "There." Reno had turned the corner into another lane of market-stalls.

"A Turk?" Kai guessed.

He nodded. "Come on." They broke into as much of a run as the tight conditions would allow, ignoring the calls of various vendors urging them to take a look at their goods. Vincent didn't even stop to apologize when he sent a man tumbling into the dirt. He couldn't lose Reno.

"Just out of curiosity," Kai panted as they ran, "What are we going to do when we catch him?"

"Something painful."

Kai grinned. "Works for me."

They were gaining on him. Reno had no idea what was coming from behind, and he was moving at a leisurely pace, stopping here and there to peruse the stalls. Vincent felt a wonderful bubble of hope grow in his stomach. He was only a few feet from Reno, when someone stepped directly in his path. He skidded to a halt to prevent serious injury to himself and whatever idiot had gotten in his way. He tripped and was sent sprawling on the dirt floor.

"Kai, go!" he managed to choke out.

Kai obeyed, picking up speed as she saw that he was alright. Within a moment, she had disappeared into the crowd. Vincent lay there on the ground, fighting to catch his breath.

"Are you okay?" A small, blue-haired boy was standing over him, staring down with a sheepish expression on his face. "I'm sorry. I didn' know you was in such a hurry. I jus' wanted to ask ya where ya got that coat."

He pointed at the red garment, now dusty and rumpled from its spill in the dirt. He was a scruffy kid, dirty and underfed. He looked like he could use a nice coat, though Vincent's would probably swallow him, as it was a bit big on Vincent himself.

"I didn't get it here," he said, picking himself up and brushing past the boy. He scanned the crowd for signs of his quarry, but neither Reno nor Kai were anywhere in sight.

"Whatcha lookin' for?" the boy asked.

"My friend," Vincent answered, only half paying attention.

"Ya mean the pretty lady?"

Vincent turned back to the boy. "Yeah."

He pointed. "She wen' that way."

"Thanks," Vincent said, failing to mention that he already knew that and therefore the information hadn't been much help. He brushed his coat off and began to push his way through the crowd, following in the direction he thought he had seen Kai take off in. He had only gone a few yards when he caught sight of her. She was heading his way, her cloak hanging lopsided of her shoulders and her face shiny with perspiration.

"He lost me. I think he realized I was onto his long-haired ass."

"Damn!" Vincent yelled, so loudly that a few nearby people looked around. He didn't care. He had lost his only lead to Erika and Scarlet. He was now positive that it had been Reno, or he wouldn't have run from Kai. He would tell his companions now, and they would leave, and Vincent would have no idea how to find them.

Kai must have seen the defeated look on his face because she said, "Don't freak out, we'll find them. Who's the kid?"

Vincent looked around. The scruffy boy had followed him. Fighting a huge urge to knock him out, he asked, "What are you doing?"

The boy didn't answer. His eyes were on Kai; on her belt, to be more accurate.

"You have a knife."

"Observant of you," she said, rather stiffly, "Vince, what-?"

"This is the reason we lost Reno." The boy didn't seem to catch the anger in his voice. He continued to stare, first at Kai, then at Vincent. His eyes were round and blue.

"What's your name, Kid?" Kai asked, leaning down. It was easy to make out the forced cheerfulness in her tone.

"Lile."

"Lile, why did you get in Vincent's way?"

Lile blinked. "I'm sorry ma'am, I jus' wanted ta see his coat…" Tears filled his eyes. "I didn't wanna get in no one's way…"

Kai's expression softened. Vincent began to feel his anger ebb away as well. The kid couldn't have been older than eight, and he looked like he hadn't had a decent meal in days. He wiped his eyes with the back of a grubby hand.

"Where's your mom?" Kai inquired

Lile made a face. "Ain't got one. Don't need one."

Kai raised her eyebrows at Vincent, who shrugged. He didn't really care much about the kid. He just wanted to find Reno. Kai seemed to understand.

"We have to go, Lile," she said softly, "We're looking for some Turks, and-,"

"Turks?" Lile piped up suddenly, "I know them Turks."

Vincent and Kai exchanged a glance. "You know them?" Vincent inquired.

Lile nodded earnestly, dirty blue hair flapping. "They're all staying at me mum's sleeping house." He seemed to have forgotten he had just told them he didn't have a mother.

"Can you show us?" Vincent asked excitedly. Maybe they would find their targets after all.

Lile nodded and lead the way. They skirted the main marketplace, staying to the edges of the cavern. The boy seemed to know it well. He ran ahead, his little bare feet pattering on the hard ground. He moved with the air of someone with an important mission. Vincent noticed the amused smile on Kai's face as she watched him.

"You're good with kids," he commented

Kai gave him a shove. "I'm just not an asshole, that's all." She looked pleased, though.

Lile led them to a door in the side of the rocky wall. Vincent was pretty sure that it was a different door than he and Kai had entered through, but the marketplace was so big and confusing he could have been wrong. Lile unlocked this particular door using a key he procured from somewhere inside his ratty tunic. Then, with a backward glance and grin, he slipped into the darkness inside.

"Should we follow him?" Kai asked dubiously, her hand on her knife.

"What have we got to lose?" Vincent wondered, knowing the answer.

"Quite a frickin' lot. Like our lives."

Vincent shrugged. "Well, there you have it."

Kai smiled, as if she was looking at a pupil who was finally beginning to learn. "That's what I like to here."

Lile stuck his head back around the door. "Ya guys comin' or what?"

They came, following him down the dim tunnel. Vincent felt hope blossom in him once again. They might actually find them this time, he might finally be able to pay Erika and her cronies back for what they had done to him. And of course, he would have some choice words for Scarlet as well.

That was of course, if something didn't go wrong. And something always did.


	8. Give Chase

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the ff7 characters…Square Enix does…you know, and all that jazz.

Author's note: Once again, thank you to all my readers. I can barely believe that there are actually people out there waiting for my writing. Let me tell you, it's a great feeling.

Chapter 8

Give Chase

Miles and miles away from where Vincent and Kai were following a little peasant boy through Fort Condor, Dr. Hojo looked up from his reading. He was sitting at a desk piled high with notes, files, and lab reports. Several empty cups of coffee sat at his elbow, moving dangerously closer to the edge of the table every time he stirred them with his arm. The office he worked in was quite small, with a barely enough room to navigate between the furniture and the stacks of paper littering the floor. He was the head scientist at Shinra Inc. and he could have had as big an office as he could possibly want, but he preferred something cramped. It helped him keep things in order.

Of course, it didn't resemble anything like order to anyone but himself. To the casual passerby it looked like some sort of hurricane had tossed Hojo's stuff around the room. But no matter what he was looking for, he could always find it. Maybe it had something to do with the mind-heightening Materia he always wore, or maybe it was just his natural genius. He hadn't worked that one out yet.

He was currently sitting with his feet up on the desk, on top of the forms detailing how much Mako energy output the labs were creating. The stuff could get quite pricy, even with the generous budget Shinra sent his way. Of course, it could always be more generous…

The thing that had distracted Hojo from his reading of the latest lab work was a quick tap on the door. He sighed with frustration and dropped the stack back onto the desk.

"Come in, if you must."

The door opened to reveal a young woman. She was tall and dark skinned; a northerner. Her hair went along with this label; silver and shining. When she spoke, it was with a voice that suggested she wasn't accustomed to using her vocal cords.

"Sir? We've received a message from the Turks. They're in Condor. They've found…" she swallowed, "Subject #9 and they're returning hi-it. Erika also wanted you to know she found what might be another suitable candidate."

Hojo put his hands behind his head and stretched. "Good, good. Everything's working out, then." He winked at the girl. "It's nice when things work out, isn't it, Lucrecia?"

Lucrecia nodded, though she couldn't suppress the unpleasant shudder that ran through her as Hojo said her name. She bowed quickly and tried to leave. The Dr. however, called her back.

"Lucrecia, I've noticed that several files have gone missing from the records. Could you have anything to do with this?" His tone was pleasant, but his eyes narrowed, as though he suspected her of some heinous crime.

Lucrecia cursed herself inwardly. She should have known that she couldn't get past him. Anything went out of place, and this man noticed it. Which was funny, since so much was out of place with _him_.

"I-I just wanted something to read. I took it from the history section, I swear! It has nothing to do with," she faltered, swallowing. "Anything. You can check. Sir."

But Hojo was waving it away as though she had brought it up in the first place. "Nothing to worry about, my dear. Just make sure you return it when you're finished." Something in his face said 'or else'.

"Oh, and here." He held up one of his empty mugs. "Would you mind getting me some more coffee?"

Lucrecia hesitated. She wasn't his secretary, and he knew it. Just as she put her hand out for the cup, their fingers brushed. Sharp, needle-like pain shot up her arm. A while ago, she would have dropped whatever she was holding, but by now she had grown used to it. She gritted her teeth until the contact ceased. She turned to go.

"Oh, and Lucrecia?" She turned on the threshold. Hojo had picked up his papers again. "The files. Keep them safe, or you'll feel something much worse than that little shock." He gave her a small grin. "My coffee?"

"Yes sir," Lucrecia said, shutting the door behind her.

Hojo sighed, angry with himself. He really should try being nicer to the girl. She was a hard worker, and it had been a long time since her last episode. He should try to be friendly, encouraging.

Oh well. Next time maybe.

For such a small boy, Lile could sure run. Vincent and Kai were hard pressed to keep up with him as they pounded through the twisting tunnels. At one point, they passed through a large cavern with several levels, the tunnels wrapping around the walls. It was a crowded place; it looked like the market continued into the actual mountain of Condor.

"Do-you-think-he's-actually bringing us anywhere?" Vincent panted, as he swerved to avoid a head on collision with a man in a floppy brown hat. The indoor market place was just as crowded as the one outside, and he and Kai had to exercise great care not to mow anyone down. Of course, it was difficult to exercise any type of care when you're honing in a group of dangerous kidnappers.

Kai had better stamina than Vincent, but she was tiring as well. "Maybe he's working for them," she managed to gasp out.

"Too late now," Vincent called back.

Lile had led them into a less populated tunnel, a narrow, dark affair filled with the smells of cooking meat. They were forced to run in single file. The boy stopped abruptly at the end of the tunnel. Vincent, who hadn't been prepared for this, skidded to a halt. Kai ran headlong into him, sending them both toppling to the ground.

"This is it," Lile said. He was pointing to a small opening in the tunnel wall, almost hidden by a bend in the rock. Above it hung a sign.

**The Lone Wanderer **

It was an inn. Delicately, Vincent untangled himself from Kai and stood up, rubbing his elbow. Peculiar name, 'The Lone Wanderer'. From his experience, inns always had cheery names; their owners wanted the name to shout 'this is a nice place, come eat here.' But this name…For some reason it sent a tremor of dread through his stomach. It was if the sign was condemning him, telling him that he would be a lone wanderer. But that wasn't the case, as the person who eased his loneliness was rising to her feet.

"Oww. Sometimes I think you enjoy falling over, Vince, you sure do it a lot." Vincent smiled. He turned to Lile.

"Is this where you saw the Turks?"

Lile nodded. "Yup. In there. This is me mum's place."

Kai peered up the steps into the inn. The shadows made it impossible to see past a few yards. She put a foot on the first step.

"Wait," Vincent cautioned. He had just realized something was wrong. "Do you hear that?"

Kai listened for a moment. "No, there's nothing."

"Exactly." Vincent saw the realization strike her eyes. Silence is the last thing you expect to be emanating from an inn. On any normal night, the sounds of crashing pots and pans, shouts, and drunken yells should be audible. Vincent turned to ask Lile if it was closed tonight, but the boy had already began the ascent up the steps, taking two at time.

"Come on!" Vincent leapt to follow, Kai close behind him. He didn't even want to begin to imagine what they would find at the top, but images of his last night in Kalm filled his head. The destruction, the death, and for no good reason.

At the door into the common room, Lile stood frozen. A look of blatant terror spread across his face. Vincent stopped at his shoulder, barely believing what was laid out before him.

The only light in the large common room came from a single oil lamp, its thin flame flickering, sending distorted shadows dancing across the walls. There was someone slumped across the table on which the lamp stood. At first glance, he looked like he was simply sleeping, but there was no healthy pallor to his skin and he was lying too still. Not to mention the bullet hole in his head that was still oozing blood.

Vincent gave a little strangled cry as he saw what other horrors the semi-darkness held. Other forms, motionless on the ground or slumped in the chairs. There were two at the bar and one behind it, a woman with faded blue hair that was beginning to go grey. As Lile approached her, he screamed like an animal being strangled.

"Mum! Mum, get up!" He ran around the bar, tears coursing down his cheeks. He shook the dead woman by the shoulders. She didn't move. For a second, neither did Lile. Then, with a cry of rage and defeat, he tore back across the common room, heading for the door. Before he reached it, Kai had stepped in his way.

"Move!" he screamed. His little shoulders were shaking and he looked like he was going to be sick. "Move," he repeated, but quieter this time.

"No," Kai said, "There's no way in hell we're gonna let you run off in this state. You'll hurt yourself."

"I don' care!"

"We care." Kai's voice was clam, but as she put a hand on Lile's head, Vincent could see the anger burning in her eyes. "The Turks did this."

Vincent nodded in agreement. There could be no doubt; Erika, her goons, and Scarlet, his own _Scarlet_, had killed all these people. But the main question was, why waste their time? What did they have against the people in the Lone Wanderer?

Lile was looking from him and Kai. "You mean those people that was stayin' here killed my mum?"

"Yes," Kai answered quietly.

"Then I'll kill them!" He tried to pull away from Kai, but her grip on his shoulder was too strong.

"No, you won't kill them. That's our job." Lile's eyes grew wide. Kai continued, "We're chasing them, Lile, and we'll avenge your mother. They killed Vincent's dad, too." She looked up at him, and Vincent could see the sympathy in her eyes.

Very slowly, Lile nodded. Kai's voice seemed to have calmed him a bit. As soon as she let go of his shoulder, he pushed past her to the door, not looking back. That was the last they saw of him. For a long, long time.

Kai turned back to the common room and its gristly contents. "Ugh, what a mess."

Vincent frowned. He didn't understand how Kai could be so collected. The bodies and the scent of fresh blood made him want to bolt out of the door. But instead, he nudged one of dead costumers on the floor with the tip of his boot. The body rolled over, its head lolling back. Its throat had been slit. Vincent felt the bile rise in his stomach, but he hadn't had anything to eat in awhile, so all it did was burn. He didn't touch any more bodies after that.

"Why do this?" he wondered aloud, "Why leave a trail of bodies?"

"Because they can." Kai's eyes were resting on the body of young girl, not much older than she. "Because there's no one who is fricking brave enough to stand up against the Shinra." She looked at Vincent. "And I think they may have put on this little show for you."

"Me? Why?" Vincent asked, bewildered. He didn't want to have anything to do with the deaths of these people, and Kai's comment definitely wasn't improving his mood.

"They're trying to prove to you what they're capable of. I told you, Vince, they're

fucking psychos."

Vincent didn't respond. His gaze had just fallen on something he hadn't noticed at first. On the table in the center of the common room, sitting beside the oil lamp, was a small black device. It was about the size of a 20 Gil piece, and had a blue blinking light on the top. He walked over and picked it up, hitting the small button on the bottom. He had never used one of them before, but he knew what it was.

A voice echoed through the room, emanating from the little device. It was a voice Vincent knew well, a voice he had grown up with.

Scarlet's voice.

"Hey Vince, how's it hanging? I knew all along you would come after us. It's too bad you got here too late; we really had to get on the road. Did you enjoy the little surprise we left? Just remember, we did it all in your name. Oh, and Reno mentioned you've picked up some Mirad whore." Kai's face donned a very ugly look, but she didn't say anything.

"I never knew you could be that desperate. Take my advice, and toss her to the dogs before you get too attached. Oh, and Seph says hello." There was the sound of several people laughing from the background. Then Erika's voice rang out, slightly quieter than Scarlet's was.

"Finish that up and get your ass outside, we don't want to be around if some idiot comes along and sees the poor, poor villagers." That was followed by the sound of retreating feet and the slamming of a door.

Scarlet began to speak again, but her tone had changed. She no longer sounded cocky, but breathless and slightly scared.

"Vincent, please, turn around and go home! I'm sorry about everything that's happened, but there's nothing you can do. The ship to Costa del Sol leaves soon, and I'm gonna be on it. I'm one of them now, and you have to leave me alone. I'm sorry about Gon and your father. Goodbye and I'll always-," before Scarlet could finish her sentence, Vincent picked up the device and hurled it at the far wall. It short circuited in a shower of yellow sparks.

"God damn you!" he yelled. He squeezed his eyes shut against the tears. He wouldn't cry, he couldn't, not here, not in front of Kai. His shoulders shook and he sank to the ground yet again. That was that. They had lost.

"Vincent." Kai kneeled down next to him. "We'll catch them. Didn't you hear her? They have a boat to catch, headed to Costa del Sol. We can get there, easy."

But Vincent just shook his head. "It's no use. They're just too good, we'll never…" He lapsed into silence. Two emotions were wrestling inside him. One was total despair. The other was different, and much more useful. White hot anger. Who did Scarlet think she was, telling him to leave her alone? Did she seriously think she was the one he cared about? He was following the Turks for two reasons. To save Seph and kill Erika. Kai was right. They could do it.

They _had _to do it. What else did Vincent have to live for?

He looked up at Kai. She stared back at him, her eyes completely serious, free of any of the usual humor or cynicism. For a moment he didn't say anything. He was too lost in the green orbs that were Kai's eyes.

"Vince?"

He blinked. "Let's go."

Kai grinned. "That's what I like to hear." She stood up, pulling him to his feet as well. "Erika better watch her Turk ass. Here we come."

Seph lay in a corner of the small hold, curled into a silver-haired ball. He was dirty and sore and he smelled distinctly undesirable. But it wasn't like he wasn't used to all that; it was the type of thing he'd had to live with all of his life, the four years he could remember of his life, at least. It seemed like half of his time was spent running away from Erika and her goons. And back at the lab…he didn't want to even think about the lab.

His eyes were shut, but two fat tears managed to escape. They ran down his nose, creating trails through the grime. Was this what the rest of his life was going to be like? Running, always running. If he ever stopped, if he ever gave up, they would destroy him. He had seen it happen before. The other people the Shinra had gotten their hands on for their 'sciences.'

The public face of the Shinra was all very good and clean. It boasted its findings in the field of "limitless energy", _Mako energy_. But the reactors were just one of the many projects they had going for them. Seph had seen the darker side of the corporation, he had experienced it for as long as he could remember. He had never had a childhood or a home or even a mother that he had ever known.

Seph held up his hands, looking at the skin beneath the dirt. It was pale, paler than any healthy skin should be. _No one else is like this, _he thought, _I'm a freak.. _

But there were others. Seph had never spoken to them or even seen them, except wrapped in body bags, being carried out of the facility. Some experiment gone awry, or some accident in the lab; Shinra laboratories seemed to generate a lot of dead. Seph didn't want to end up like that, just another name in a book of failed experiments, just another body tossed into Shinra's incinerator.

The boat listed suddenly to one side. He was thrown into the wall, which added more bruises on top of the ones he already had. The ship righted itself, the great wooden hull groaning like a beast in pain.

Seph thought back to the conversation he had heard between Erika and the new one, Scarlet. They had been talking about that boy, Vincent, from Kalm. Erika had asked Scarlet how long it would take him to catch up, and how difficult it would be to shake him.

_Please, _Seph though earnestly, _Please, whoever you are, stay away. Don't let them get you too._

Vincent slid gingerly off the Chocobo, rubbing his backside. The big, fluffy yellow birds might be cute, but there were definitely better ways to travel. Kai came trotting up a few feet behind him. Her steed had been rather temperamental, forever trying to toss her off or bolt back up the road. She dismounted, weariness showing in her every movement.

"My ass hurts like you wouldn't believe," she said.

"Oh, I believe it," Vincent assured her, "I seem to have the same problem myself."

Kai chuckled. "What are we supposed to do with these stupid birdies anyway?" She was forced to jump quickly to one side, as her Chocobo lunged. They were a lot more intelligent than they looked, and Vincent could have sworn Kai's knew it had been insulted.

"We're just supposed to leave them at the next outpost, I guess," he answered. The man who had rented the birds out to them had mentioned how someone came around to pick them up.

As they walked the last quarter of a mile to the outpost, Vincent fervently wished they could have found a better, _quicker _way to get from Fort Condor to the coast. But Kai had assured them that they would need their money later (for ship passage, food, etc.) and in these modern times of Mako energy, Chocobos were definitely one of the cheaper ways to travel.

"So, how exactly do we go about finding a ship to Costa del Sol?"

Kai shrugged. "Hell if I know. I've never been there. It's a touristy place, and those are really bad for business. _My _business," she added, though she needn't have. Vincent could read between the lines a bit better than she gave him credit for.

"Why is a vacation spot bad for business?" he asked, "Doesn't everyone bring a lot of money?"

Kai nodded, kicking a pebble along the edge of the road. "Yeah, they do, but it's so damn crowded, you can get caught really easy."

"Oh."

"Why do you want to know?" she asked with a sly grin, "You thinking of joining the business when all of this is over?"

"No!" Vincent answered forcibly. He would make a horrible bandit, and they both knew it. He just didn't have the personality for that kind of lifestyle. However, Kai's joke had opened up a disturbing question. What was he going to do when everything was over? Provided of course, that everything went the way he was planning; him getting his revenge on the Turks and rescuing Seph. He didn't know if he could just go back to Kalm and pick his life back up where he had left off. He had seen too much of the world, come to realize too much of what was going on in the Planet.

He would just have to cross the bridge when he came to it. Or burn it to ashes, depending on how he was feeling.

They left the Chocobos at the outpost and continued along the small country road through expanses of tilled fields, meadows, and forest. It was slower than riding, but much more comfortable.

"So," Vincent began after a few minutes, "Why do you think the Turks are going to a vacation spot?"

Kai shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe they're looking for a party."

Vincent snorted. It didn't make any sense. Even if Erika did anything as human as take time off from her job, why would she do it with her colleges and a prisoner it tow? Well, he wasn't the one to delve into the deep dark reaches of the Turk's mind. He would leave that job, thankfully, to a good psychiatrist.

The stream the road had been following eventually broadened into a large, swiftly running river. All the rain they had been getting lately ran down from the mountains, filling the river, which in its turn emptied into the sea. Vincent knew this, but that was the extent of his geographical knowledge. If they somehow got separated from the road or river, he wouldn't know where to go. And he didn't trust his map reading skills anymore than he trusted his skill at sprouting wings and lifting off. They would just have to trust the landmarks. It had worked so far.

After a time, Kai broke the silence that had stretched between them for the last couple of minutes. "I wonder what's going to happen to that Lile kid." She was trying to keep her voice light, but it was easy to tell she was concerned. "That thing…you know, what happened in his mom's inn. That's not something you get over easily."

"Tell me about it," Vincent answered grudgingly. He didn't want to have to keep thinking about what they had seen. The image of the body rolling over, its head half-cleaved from its neck… He shivered. It had felt wrong, just leaving those people lying there in chaos. He had thought they should report it to someone, but Kai had assured him that there would be too much yellow tape if they did.

They walked the last quarter of a mile or so in silence. They both had their own thoughts, and absolutely no inclination to share them. The path had begun to meander away from the river, climbing what was quickly becoming a steep ridge. It was a good thing that it was early in the morning. Climbing would have been torture in the hot sun, considering their exhausted condition. It occurred to Vincent that they hadn't had any sleep at all that night, nor had they had a meal since they had reached Condor. They would have to eat and sleep at some point, if they didn't want to be completely useless for anything.

Reaching the top of the ridge, Vincent stopped dead in his tracks. Lying before him was something he had heard of countless times, but had never actually seen. The ocean, stretching out as far as the eye could see. Though the sky was beginning to lighten in the east, behind them, it was still dark and star-strew above the sea.

"Whoa," Kai breathed.

"Yeah," Vincent agreed, "But haven't you seen the ocean before?"

Kai shook her head. "Nope, I've never been this far from home. It's…pretty."

"Let's get a closer look," Vincent said, starting down the far side of the ridge.

A little port town had grown almost right up to the water. It wasn't much of anything and seemed to be smaller even than Kalm, which, Vincent knew, was saying something. It mainly seemed to consist of houses on stilts, the first floor raised up at least one story. It gave the odd impression that the whole town was standing on its toes. Obviously, it was to keep the buildings dry whenever there was flooding, but it still looked rather comical.

Along the harbor sat several boats, riding up and down on the gentle swell. They didn't seem to be anything beside small fishing vessels; not equipped to traverse the ocean. They were all empty, their sails furled.

"This place looks happening," Kai said sarcastically. Vincent had to agree. There didn't seem to be anything worthy of notice going on in the little town. Many of the houses were boarded up and looked like they had been abandoned years ago. The only thing that looked even faintly modern about the entire place was a huge steel structure squatting at one end of the harbor. It looked about as inviting as a sandstorm.

"What the hell is that?" Kai asked, in awe.

"Not sure," Vincent answered, "Looks kind of out of place though."

And it did, like a black cat in a litter of white kittens. At first, it had looked just as empty as the rest of the town, but now, squinting towards the roof, Vincent could see several white-clad figures silhouetted against the night sky. They were standing on a large platform jutting above the water, at least three hundred feet up, and were grouped together in a way that suggested they were deep in conversation Beside them sat some sort of giant, half-built machine. Vincent wasn't well-versed in anything beyond a hand-gun, but he was sure that it was a weapon. Pointing out to sea.

"Oh shit," Kai said. A very ugly expression had twisted her mouth, a combination of alarm and disgust.

"What is it?"

"That," she answered, indicating the giant structure, "That's a Shinra building."

Vincent's eyes widened. "Are you serious? What're the Shinra doing somewhere like this?" Kai didn't answer. She had already set off once again, in the direction of the building.

"Wait!" Vincent called, hurrying to catch up. He didn't know what Kai had in mind to do, but if he knew her, it wouldn't be anything wise.

"If there's anyone who can tell us where the Turks are, it's the Shinra!"

Vincent grabbed Kai by the shoulder. "Are you crazy? They'll kill us!"

"I'll go by myself, then," she said, trying to pull away, but Vincent forced her to look at him.

"Then they'll kill _you_!" he insisted fiercely. His voice cracked on the last word; he had just imagined how terrible it would be if Kai died. It would be the final straw, he would go insane. Vincent looked into her eyes, trying to impress upon her how serious he was. For a moment, they just stood there, eyes locked, green and black gems beneath a sinking sun. Something resembling an eternity passed, until Kai blinked, and the spell was broken.

Vincent reeled back a bit, rubbing his eyes, which Kai now refused to meet. "Fine, we won't go into the Shinra building," she snapped, "We'll just look for a ship to Costa del Sol."

"Okay," Vincent agreed quietly. He was desperate for any sort of plan, regardless of what it was, as long as it would prevent Kai from running headlong into trouble.

The task of finding a ship turned out to be a lot more difficult than he had expected. The boats in the harbor were absolutely empty, ghost ships sitting silently beneath the fading stars. Whatever flags or pennants they had once flown had been stripped away, leaving them completely bare.

"What the hell?" Kai asked, as they walked along the dock, "Does anyone actually _live_ here?"

Vincent didn't answer. He had been thinking the same thing. So far, all they had seen were those three people on top of the Shinra building. Could it be possible that this town was just as empty as it seemed to be? He turned to share this thought with Kai, when something else caught his eye.

There was someone lurking in the shadow of one of the dark houses. The light color of their garments made them quite visible\. Vincent wondered if they thought they were doing a pretty good job hiding. He nudged Kai with his elbow and nodded in their direction with the pretense of stretching his neck. He saw her keen eyes register the shadow.

"Hey, you there!" She started towards the figure, who hadn't moved. Vincent slapped a palm against his forehead.

"Yeah, good idea, 'cause we wouldn't want to take them by surprise or anything." He ran to catch up with her. A man had stepped out of the shadows. His hair was sandy blond and he looked to be in his mid-twenties. His clothing was white and blue, and a pair of brown goggles hung around his neck.

"Who the hell are you?" Kai asked as they approached.

"I was going to ask both of you the same thing," the man said. He had some sort of rustic accent; a southerner, possibly.

"I'm Vincent Valentine," Vincent answered before Kai could say anything else that could land them in some sort of unnecessary trouble.

The man nodded his understanding. "I'm Cid Highwind, pleasure to meet ya, Vincent. And who's your charming little friend?"

"I'm Kai," Vincent's charming little friend snapped, "And I don't need your approval."

"Hey, hey, who said I didn't approve?" Cid said hastily, putting up his hands in defense, "I just wanted to know why you guys are here, that's all."

"We're, uh, looking for a way across the sea, to Costa del Sol," Vincent said, then added, "Oww!" as Kai elbowed him in the side.

"How about not telling everyone everything about us?" she hissed angrily. Something had caused her mood to take a turn for the worst. Cid was looking from her, back to Vincent. A shadow of amusement was creeping over his handsome face.

"Well shit, I haven't seen nothing like you two around here for quite awhile. But if you're trying to find a ship to take you ta' Sol, this isn't the place to do it. This port's been deserted for the past year and a half."

"Crap," Kai said, kicking the side of the house and dislodging a couple of boards. Vincent was pleased she had decided to take out her anger on something other than himself.

"What are we going to do now?" he asked her. He had a strong urge to start kicking things as well. They had come all this way just to be confronted with what appeared to be another insurmountable barrier.

"Hey," Cid said casually, scratching his head, "I guess-I guess I could help you guys out."

Kai gave him a piercing look. "How? Do you have a ship?"

Cid nodded, though Vincent thought he looked a little uncomfortable. "Yeah, I got a ship, but it might be a little different than what ya'll are lookin' for."

"As long as it gets us to Costa del Sol," Vincent put in, "It doesn't matter."

Cid clapped his hands together. "All right then!" He looked excited. "Follow me."

He set off along the road through the abandoned town. The houses on either side were silent and still; creepy in the half-light before dawn. As Vincent walked along, he couldn't help feeling the hairs on the back of his neck rising.

"Uh, can I ask why we're going this way?" Kai was calling out, "The harbor's behind us. Unless you've got a ship that can go over the fricking land…"

Cid smiled back at them. "Don't be an idiot, what kind of ship can go on land?"

He stopped as they reached a long, low building toward the center of town. There was light shining from within and it looked to be one of the only structures that wasn't padlocked. Cid shoved the rusting door open, motioning them inside.

What they found was absolutely nothing like they had been expecting. The building was dusty and looked a bit like the inside of the barns back at home Vincent knew so well. But sitting in the center of it was something you would never see inside any barn in Kalm Village. A seaplane, propped up on bales of hay.

"This is your _ship_?" Kai asked incredulously.

"Yep," Cid answered happily, "This baby'll get ya'll across the ocean in no time."

"Is it safe?"

"Safe as houses."

Vincent didn't think he agreed. It didn't look very stable. The paint was beginning to chip from the wings and part of the tail looked like it was being held together with glue. The cockpit didn't look big enough to fit Cid, let alone him and Kai. All in all, a bad idea.

"Well," he said brightly, "This is going to be interesting."


	9. Fun in the Sun

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Final Fantasy characters; I just put them in difficult situations and force them to get themselves out for the amusement of others. Yeah, yeah, I'm evil.

Author's Note: I had a lot of fun with this chapter. It may get a little freaky and it is a lot to bombard the reader with all at once, but I'm sure everyone will enjoy it. I know I did. (Oh, and I'm sure Vincent did too) On that note…

Yet another Author's Note: Some people have mentioned how I am not sticking to the exact, rigid story that goes along with the game. I assure you, I am trying my utmost to be as accurate as possible. There are however, several necessary changed I had to make; Reno's age, for instance. (And I don't see how that is such a big deal seeing Reno is such a minor character anyway) As for Sephiroth being the same age as Vincent, it will be explained, as I have mentioned previously. Just know that, though I am straying from the central topic (Vincent/Shinra/genetically altered/basement) and adding some touches of my own (Kai), it does not mean I will not get there eventually. Sorry if this sounded a little bitchy…It's early in the morning and I haven't had my coffee yet. (jk) (kind of)

Thanks

Chapter 9

Fun in the Sun

Vincent had thought Chocobos were a painful way to travel. That had been before he experienced Cid's seaplane, which was unarguably worse.

He, Cid, and Kai had pushed the seaplane out of its hanger, along the street, and down to the beach, using ropes that Cid had rigged to the wings and the tail. The fact that it had to be dragged along was the first sign that maybe flying in this contraption wasn't the best course of action.

"We have ta get it into the tide," Cid said, tossing yet another rope to both Kai and Vincent, "Normally it takes me the whole damn day, but ya'll look like strong kids."

Kai made a face. Vincent knew she didn't like being called a 'kid'. However, she wrapped the ropes around her hands without complaint. She seemed to be gaining some self-control. Vincent was relived. It would make their job considerably easier if he didn't have to worry about her letting lose on someone. He didn't know what was worse, Kai's compulsive nature, or his tendency to over-analyze things. They were quite a pair.

As soon as the plane's runners were close enough to the water to be caressed by the evanescent foam creeping up the beach, Cid ordered a stop. He dropped his ropes and ran over to the cockpit. Levering himself up by grabbing onto both the rudders and the wings, he jumped up into the passenger's seat.

"Hey, Vincent," he called back down, "Can you untie the ropes?"

"Yeah," Vincent answered, yelling to be heard over the brisk wind that had sprung up while they had been dragging the plane along the street.

He jogged to the back, unknotting the ropes from the tail and wings. They coiled to the ground, where they lay like snakes in the sand. The last one was tied at the top of the tail. Vincent had no idea how Cid had got it up there; it was much higher than his arm's reach. He made a few pitiful attempts, jumping up and trying to grab hold of the knot. It didn't work, all he ended up doing was scraping his knuckles on the side of the plane.

Kai laughed. "You're useless, you know that, Vincent?"

"Thanks."

"Anytime. Here, let me help."

She ran over from where she had been standing beside the cockpit. Vincent wasn't exactly sure what she planned on doing. She was definitely shorter than he was. Looking up at the knot, she seemed to consider something.

"Pick me up," she said after a moment.

Vincent started. "Huh?"

Kai rolled her eyes. "Clean the mud out of your ears. Pick me up so I can get the rope."

Vincent stood there form a moment, then dropped to one knee and put his hands out, in order to give her a boost. Kai gave him a look.

"Not like that, dumbass, if you sit down it won't help much." Without warning, she sprang at him. Vincent stepped back in shock, but still managed to catch her around the waist.

"Now lift me up!" she ordered.

He obliged, feeling a little shaken. Kai was actually quite a bit heavier than she looked. She reached up and un-knotted the rope, letting it coil to the ground like the rest of them. Vincent set her back on the sand.

"Alright!" he called up to Cid. He brushed past Kai, who was looking at him in a way that made him feel uncomfortable. He wouldn't meet her eyes as the both piled into the plane with Cid. As they had expected, there wasn't much room.

"Sorry 'bout this," Cid grunted as they squeezed past him, "I guess I'm just used to it being me an' me only."

"Great," Kai said, collapsing into the back part of the cabin that was usually reserved for luggage. Small luggage. "Are you sure it can carry all three of us?"

"Course I'm sure!" Cid insisted, though perhaps a little too forcefully than was completely necessary.

Vincent clambered in beside Kai. He tried to maneuver himself into a position in which he could see around the pilot's chair, out of the large front window. The sun had completely risen by now, high and hot. It made the ocean water sparkle like a thousand diamonds. It was a very beautiful sight, and Vincent just hoped they wouldn't end up taking a nosedive into it. That would kind of ruin the beauty a bit.

"Ready Kids?" Cid asked. Without waiting for an answer, he flipped a switch on the control panel. The rest if the buttons lit up and a low whirring sound filled the cabin. Vincent couldn't see it, but he knew it was the propellers spinning into action. All of a sudden, the whole plane began to shake violently. Slowly, agonizingly slowly, it began to inch forward, until it was rising and falling with the waves.

"Well, at least it floats," Kai muttered.

"Does more than float!" Cid yelled happily, pulling a lever and grabbing the wheel. The plane jerked forward, picking up speed as it zipped across the choppy harbor waters. The sky and the sea began to blur together, and suddenly, they were flying. Cid gave a whoop of excitement as they ascended. Kai didn't seem so excited. She moaned as the plane shook, buffeted by the air currents, and grabbed Vincent's arm.

"Oh, shit, I never shoulda gotten on this thing!"

Vincent wanted to say something to reassure her, but he wasn't feeling so calm himself. Leaving the ground far, far behind was nothing he had ever done before, and he wasn't quite sure they would make it out of this alive. After awhile though, the ride began to smooth out. Vincent supposed it was because they were now out of reach of the gusting wind, up above the Clouds. Eventually, he began to relax. Kai's grip on his arm got less intense, but she didn't let go.

"If you two are hungry, there's some grub in the packs back there." Cid jerked his head back. Vincent and Kai did not need telling twice. It had been a long time since there last meal. They went at the flaky bread and cheese with a vengeance. While they were eating, Vincent asked he had been wondering about for the past hour or so.

"Uh, Cid?" Cid cocked his head to show he was listening. "You said that no one has lived in that town for years. Where did they all go?"

Cid didn't answer for a moment. When he finally did, it was in a very flat voice. "Ya'll saw that big 'ole Shinra building, didn't ya?"

"Yeah, we did, but-,"

"A couple years back, a representative of Shinra Inc. came to town. He said that everyone's got a month 'ta move themselves outta there. We all thought it was just 'ta build another one'a those Reactors."

"We?" Vincent asked.

Cid turned his head back a little. "Yeah, we. I lived there for awhile. Anyway, we moved out. What other choice did everyone have? The guy from the Shinra brought a big 'ole official-looking form, and they had Soldier with them.

"When we had all moved out, to the countryside, nearby towns and villages, they starting building. They didn' build a Reactor like we thought they were, they built _that_ building. A weapon's manufacturing lab."

Vincent didn't say anything for quite awhile. Cid's story had sounded an awful lot like his, except Cid's people hadn't been massacred in the street. Or maybe they had, and he just didn't like to mention it. That was a possibility too.

"Hey, Cid." Kai had looked up from where she had been staring at her lap for the past few minutes. "We're chasing the Shinra right now. We're gonna catch the Turks and make the bastards pay. You never know, if we live, maybe we'll go after whoever took your town over."

So much for not giving away any information.

"You two'd better get some sleep," was Cid's only answer.

When he had eaten his fill, Vincent lay back, trying to get as comfortable as he could in the tight space. He had decided to take Cid's advice to get some sleep. It would take them about six hours to get across the ocean, so they had plenty of time. Kai followed suit, stretching out as best she could.

_It's a good thing I'm so tired, _was Vincent's last thought as he drifted off to sleep, _I would never be able to sleep with her so close to me if I wasn't. _

Lucrecia was afraid. Not for herself, but for everything; humans, animals, monsters, trees, the entire planet. She didn't know how she knew that something bad was in the making. It was almost like a sixth sense, like she could see the future. More like _feel _the future. It sounded ridiculous, but after spending five years in Shinra labs, she knew anything was possible, even things that should be impossible, things that should be let a myth.

She had to get out of there. She had to warn…well, she didn't know who she could warn. The Shinra were the biggest power in the world, they owned everything, and everyone. But though their reach extended all over the planet, Lucrecia had heard tell of organizations, few and far between, that opposed the Shinra. If she could reach one of them, maybe she would be safe. Maybe.

Lucrecia wished so hard that she had never had anything to do with the incorporation at all. Why couldn't she just have been another one of those people living on the Planet, the ones who lived and died without knowing what the hell was going on outside of their little world in a bubble. If she only hadn't been in that one place at that one time, if only she hadn't met _him_…

She crept along the long, metal corridor. It led to a part of the labs that she was absolutely prohibited to enter, but that didn't matter anymore. It was late at night, and many of the day workers had long since gone home. There were, however, still people in the labs. Shinra's older, more experienced scientists, the ones who worked on the projects that should never see the light of day. She moved as quietly as possible; she didn't want anyone alerted to her escape, especially not-

"Why, fancy meeting you here."

Hojo.

The dark-haired, lab-coated scientist had just turned the corner. Lucrecia had nearly run into him. A small smile crept over his face at the sight of her, like a child faced with a particularly tasty piece of candy.

"Lucrecia," he said, "You wouldn't have happened to realize that you're not supposed to be anywhere near this part of my labs, have you? Why, it leads outside. You might get lost."

"N-No Sir," Lucrecia stuttered, backing away. She hated him so much; it felt like angry flames licking at her insides. Her escape plans had been foiled, now all she wanted to do was get away without too much bodily or mental injury. Maybe he was busy and wasn't in the mood to torment her.

But Hojo wasn't about to let her go that easily. Just as she tore her eyes away from his hypnotic black gaze and turned to run back up the corridor, he caught her around the wrist. She braced herself, expecting to feel the usual pain, but none came. Instead, Hojo's touch just felt like normal human contact. That was worse, that meant he wasn't in the mood to _hurt_ her.

"You should know better than that," he said. In one fluid movement, he pulled her towards him, pinned her shoulders to the wall and kissed her, hard. Lucrecia gasped with disgust, goose bumps popping up along her arms. He was terribly strong for a scientist, and she had to use all her strength just to push him away. He stumbled backwards, breathing heavily.

"Don't touch me," she screamed, not caring who heard, "You're disgusting!"

Hojo's eyes narrowed. "Am I?" He asked. His lips twisted with amusement, making Lucrecia's stomach boil with something unnamable. "Then why aren't you running away?"

He traced his fingers over her jaw. She didn't move. His allure was sickening, it was unnatural, but it was there. As he kissed her again, softer this time, she didn't even attempt to fathom the strange power he held over her. There wasn't any point to fighting it. He always won, and besides, giving in was better than living in a numb haze, which was how she existed at Shinra labs.

"Now," Hojo murmured, his mouth hovering by her neck, "Isn't that better?"

Vincent's dreams were muddled. He saw Kalm Village. He was running through the streets, looking, always looking for something. Gon and Scarlet were there, searching along with him. The sky was darkening as the wind tossed the trees. Vincent didn't know what they were looking for, but he knew it was imperative they find it.

Suddenly, the houses of Kalm disappeared. They were replaced by the caves of the Mithril Mines. It was the light was weak, coming from wherever light came from in dreams. There was someone standing at the other side of the cave. Vincent walked forward to try to get a closer look.

The glow of the candle revealed it to be a woman, dressed in the black leather of a Turk. As Vincent approached, she raised her head. It was Kai. She put her hands up above her head. Chains grew from the wall, snaking around her arms, binding her helplessly. A look of pain crossed her face, as though something unseen was hurting her.

Vincent sprang forward, intent on saving her, but before he could reach her, she disappeared, along with the rest of the Mithril Mines. Instead, he found himself lying on a cold table, bright lights glaring down on him. Someone was standing next to him, holding something in their hand. It was large and sharp-looking, and pulsed with a green light. Whoever they were pushed the thing into his stomach, trying to embed it in his skin.

Vincent jerked awake suddenly. He was filled with panic for a moment, as he realized there was still something pushing into his stomach. He sat up, discarding Kai who had been sleeping beside him, her head resting on his chest.

"What's your deal?" she muttered, barely half-awake.

Vincent took a deep breath. It had just been a dream. It had left him feeling extremely jumpy and confused. Kai was sitting up beside him, rubbing her eyes.

"Are we there yet?" she asked blearily.

"Almost," Cid called back.

Twenty minutes later they were once again being buffeted by the wind, as the plane descended. What had been blue ocean for the last few hours transformed into dry land, though for a moment, Vincent didn't know what he was looking at. The ground seemed to have turned to a brownish gold.

"What's down there?" he asked, leaning up to where Cid could hear him over the roar of the wind.

"Those're the dunes. There's a lot of 'em between here an' the river." Cid glanced to the south, pointing out something below. "And that over there, that's Costa del Sol."

Vincent and Kai both struggled to position themselves so as to get a closer look. Some distance from the shore, the dunes gave way to a city. A real _city _this time, not just a quaint little town. From his vantage point Vincent could make out high rises, smaller buildings, as well as people. Lots of them.

"I wanted to give ya a good look," Cid said, chuckling at their shocked expressions. "I'm gonna loop back around now and land."

As he did so, Vincent leaned back against the cabin wall. "You ready for this?" he asked Kai, adrenaline beginning to run through his veins. They had another crack at the Turks!

Yawning, Kai gave him a withering look. "Ready for what, may I ask?"

"For taking on the Turks, come on! That's why we're here!"

Kai sighed. "Vince, how big is this ocean?"

Vincent blinked. He hadn't expected that in answer to his question. "I don't know. Pretty big?"

"Right. And how long does it take a ship to cross it?"

"Uhh…"

"Come on, Vince! There's gotta be a brain somewhere underneath that desperately-needs-a-trim hair of yours?"

Vincent tried to concentrate. "I guess…I guess it'd take them about a day, if they sailed all through the night."

"Exactly. And how long has it taken us to fly here?"

Vincent finally caught on. "Just a few hours!" he exclaimed, "So that means the Turks probably won't be here until around…"

"Tonight," Kai finished for him.

"Oh." Vincent felt disappointment replacing the adrenaline. "That means we have an entire day to kill…"

"Don't complain, it'll be nice to get a goddamn break. Now don't talk, I have to concentrate on not throwing up." She obviously did not like flying.

Cid was a talented pilot, but he was maybe a little overly-excitable. He tended to put a little too much pressure on the gas just for the sake of revving the engine, and handle the wheel a little rougher than was actually necessary. The plane touched down in the Costa del Sol harbor. They had made it without any loss of life or limb. They coasted up as close to the harbor dock as they could without actually banging into it.

"End of the line, folks," Cid said, shutting down the engine. It died with a low whine. Kicking open the cockpit door, he leapt out onto the dock. Following suit, Vincent narrowly missed tumbling into the warm waters of the harbor. His legs felt clumsy and weak after being cramped for so long in the back of the plane.

The first thing he noticed about Costa del Sol was that it was really hot. And crowded. Hordes of people (much more than there had been at Condor) strolled along, all of them dressed for the beach. The streets were lined with small shops selling everything from food to tourist junk. Low, exotic music came from an open-air café on the corner. Everything was so lively and brightly colored.

"Quite a sight, ain't it?" Cid asked from behind him.

Kai sniffed. "Looks okay…" she answered, but from her bright eyes and piqued expression, Vincent knew she was every bit as interested as he was.

"Well, I think I'd best be on my way…"

Vincent turned around. Cid had one hand on the door handle of the plane.

"You're not leaving already, are you?" he asked, surprised, "But we've got no way to pay you!"

The pilot waved it aside. "Don't worry about it, was my pleasure. Good luck givin' the Shinra hell. 'Bout time somebody did." With that, he leapt aboard the plane, revved the engine, and splashed off into the harbor, leaving Vincent and Kai to be hit with a wave of seawater.

"Melodramatic much," Kai commented, shaking her wet hair out of her eyes, "It's not like he can go anywhere without refueling."

Vincent smiled. He was very thankful to the friendly pilot; thanks to him they had made good time across the sea. Not only had they caught up with the Turks, they were ahead of them. Not bad at all.

"C'mon," Kai said, "Let's go."

They turned away from the harbor and made their way up towards the city. Several vessels were moored there, tour boats by the look of them. Fisherman stood on the edge of the dock, their lines dipping into the clear blue water, through which numerous multi-colored fish could be seen.

"So," Vincent said after a few paces, "Where are we headed?"

"A clothing store."

"What?" he asked, taken aback. It didn't seem like the best time for shopping.

"Look at us, Vince," Kai said exasperatingly, "Do we look like we're dressed for the beach?"

She had a point. Everything about their clothing; Vincent's long coat and boots and Kai's scarf, cloak, and bangles, was meant for colder weather, definitely not the tropics. Everyone else in Costa del Sol was dressed in very degrees of not very much at all. Swim suits, sarongs, tank tops, and sandals.

"Good idea," he agreed, "We'll definitely need some new clothes."

It didn't take them long to find the appropriate store, there were quite a few of them, selling all the things you could use at the beach. It was small, brightly lit, and crowded. A few fake palm trees were scattered throughout. Kai peered inside.

"Wait here," she ordered. Before Vincent could protest, she had marched jauntily inside. He remained outside, trying to look like he belonged on the sunny street, though he truly felt out of place.

He had been standing there for about ten minutes, when he began to get unpleasantly warm. He shrugged out of his coat and threw it over his shoulder. Across the square was a café, selling what looked to be coffee. A large group of girls was sitting underneath the umbrellas, talking and laughing. As he stood there, Vincent saw one of them, a tall, thin blond, look up. Her eyes fell on him, and she nudged the girl beside her. The other looked in his direction as well. Uncomfortable, he ran his fingers through his hair. For some reason, the two girls burst into a fit of giggles. Then, much to Vincent's dismay, they stood up and headed towards him.

"Hey, what's up?" the blond asked, flipping her hair back behind her shoulders. She wore a short skirt and shirt that covered neither her back nor stomach. Her friend was dressed similarly.

"Uh, nothing…" Vincent answered lamely. He had never had much poise around girls, besides Scarlet, of course, but he had known her since they were children.

"You, like, here alone?" the girl asked.

"No, he's with me." Kai had emerged from the store. She had changed into a tank top and blue sarong. Her hair was tied back and she had on a pair of sunglasses. "Screw off," she said to the girls. The blond muttered something to her friend and the two of them marched off, noses in the air.

"Little sluts," Kai muttered. She handed Vincent a pair of dark sunglasses. "You gotta watch out for those kind of chicks, Vince. Real trouble."

"Okay, whatever." He smiled. "You're just always looking out for me, aren't you Kai?"

Kai grinned. "Aww, shut it," she said, giving him a shove. She knew he was kidding, but the strange thing was he was only partly kidding. Without Kai he would still be lying dead on the plains, and even if he had survived, without her street smarts he would be utterly lost now.

"Where are we headed now?" he asked as they continued on their way down the street.

Kai stretched, rotating her neck and making the tendons crack. "No idea, man, we got the whole day to kill. You wanna go down to the beach?"

Vincent shrugged. It sounded like fun, and yet… "Maybe, but shouldn't we be…I don't know, preparing for a battle with the Turks?" He winced. That had come out extremely stupid. He took a breath, ready to try to rephrase it, but Kai waved it away.

"I don't think we have to worry about that, it's not like we could get any more prepared than we already are. By the way, do you still have your gun?"

Vincent reached into his coat's inside pocket. "It's here." He pulled out the weapon, only to have Kai shove it back out of sight.

"Don't wave that thing around! Do you know how tight law-enforcement is in places like this?"

"Sorry."

"Just be careful. Oh, and unbutton your shirt."

"W-What?" Vincent stammered, feeling the blood rush to his cheeks.

Kai looked at him, her eyebrows raised. "You still don't look like your on vacation. Unbutton your shirt, it's really hot and I'm sure you'd rather do that than put on a swim suit."

Vincent couldn't argue with her there, so he did as he was told and unbuttoned his shirt, letting it hang open, fluttering slightly in the ocean breeze. He felt kind of strange and uncovered, but he guessed he blended in a little better. The last thing they wanted to do was call attention to themselves. He didn't know why, exactly, but it seemed as good a tactic as any.

The sun was at its zenith by the time they had reached the public beach. It beat down mercilessly, making Vincent feel like he was being baked. He had never been anywhere remotely this warm before, Kalm didn't even come close. The beach was crowded with people; sunbathing girls, families, surfers, and the like. As Kai passed a group of bronze skinned men, one of them whistled.

"Hey babe, what's going on?"

Kai didn't turn, just kept walking, dripping with the utmost dignity. Vincent couldn't help grinning when he thought about what would happen to one of those guys if they tried messing with her. They would end up in the hospital, at the very least.

"What now?" he asked as they approached the tide line.

"What you mean 'what now?'" Kai asked incredulously, "Haven't you ever been on a vacation before in your life?"

"Have you?"

"Well, no," Kai admitted, "But I'm pretty sure you're just supposed to relax and shit."

Vincent laughed. "And how do you propose we do that, relax and shit?"

Kai glanced around, as though searching for inspiration. "We could get a drink or something," she said, pointing to a small bar near the edge of the boardwalk.

It seemed like a good plan (they were both thirsty) so Vincent followed as Kai led the way to the small tables beside the bar. From behind, he couldn't help noticing the way her new clothes suited her. The shirt hugged the curves of her waist perfectly, the sarong doing the same thing to her lower body. He didn't have an ounce of trouble

understanding why those guys had whistled at her. Kai was beautiful. She always had been, but underneath all that worn garments and the winter cloak, he hadn't really noticed. Till now.

As they passed the bar, the tender set out two red iced-drinks. Waiting until his back was turned and looking fervently from side to side, Kai picked them up. She sat down at the table farthest away.

"Whose are those?" Vincent asked with amusement, taking a seat across from her.

"I don't know. Ours now." She smiled. "Cheers."

Vincent picked up one of the red drinks. "Cheers," he agreed, pulling out the little wooden umbrella. It was cold and refreshing, tasting of pineapple and coconut. There was a strong, underlying tang to it, but he didn't think much of it then.

They whiled away the rest of the day sitting on the beach, watching the waves crashing onto the white sand. Vincent was feeling strangely giddy, happy even. It was an emotion that definitely didn't fit with the current situation; they had come to Costa del Sol to apprehend the Turks, not to go on a vacation. Regardless, he tried to imagine that there was nothing wrong, and he and Kai had just come for the same reason as everyone else here. To enjoy themselves.

The strange feeling of contentment was spreading through his veins like a sudden warmth. It was so strong that he didn't even complain when Kai grabbed his hand and dragged him along until they were waist deep in the warm blue water. It was like a bath, except there were a bunch of other people there, and he was wasn't naked. But we won't talk about that.

Suddenly, Kai squeaked and clutched Vincent around the shoulders. "Something touched my leg," she said nervously.

Vincent glanced down. A small purple fish was swimming back out towards the reefs. He chuckled. "Yeah, I think that little fish thought you looked like lunch. Good thing you noticed in time."

Kai glared at him in that mock-serious way of hers. She was still holding on to him, and Vincent had a sudden strong desire to put his arms around her. It was so unexpected that he felt his hands almost moving of their own accord. He stopped them, however, feeling a little freaked out. Kai gave him a quizzical look, sighed, and headed back to the beach, leaving him standing behind.

Had he done something to upset her? He certainly hoped not. It wouldn't be a good idea for them to be mad at each other…

She had sat back down on the sand, hugging her knees. Before he went over to her, Vincent approached the bar. He was thinking of actually _buying _something for them to drink, but there were two glasses sitting on the counter, white this time. The bartender was mixing drinks, his back turn. Avoiding eye-contact with anyone at the bar, he picked up the two glasses and high-tailed it back to Kai.

"Drink, my lady?" he asked.

She looked up, smiled, and took the glass from him. "I was just thinking about…"

"What?" Vincent inquired, sitting down next to her. Her game face was back on; she looked concerned about something.

"It's just…when we find the Turks, and I have a damn good feeling that we'll actually catch them this time, what are we going to do?"

Vincent didn't understand. "We're going to kill Erika!" he responded forcefully. Wasn't that the whole point of their little journey?

"Just calm down for a goddamn minute, okay Vince? I know I like to pretend I'm tough, and so do you, though you're not too good at it." She glanced at him, her face very serious. "The truth is, we are absolutely no match for trained operatives like the Turks. What are we supposed to do, walk up to them and ask nicely if Erika wouldn't mind if we shot her in the head?"

Vincent shrugged. Something seemed to be making his brain foggy and it was difficult to focus on anything. "We just gotta try, that's all, and I think we better…" he started to stand, but then fell right back down again. His legs felt like lead.

"Clumsy, aren't you?" Kai giggled, trying to stand herself and having just about as much luck, "Damn, what's wrong with us?"

"Uh, Kai?" Vincent thought he knew what was going on.

"Yeah?"

"Uh, where did we get these drinks?"

"The bar…"

"And what kind of drinks do they serve at bars?"

"They sell…shit." Kai made a face. "I didn't think about that."

"That settles it," Vincent said wearily, "We're drunk."

He now understood why he felt so strange. It was all the alcohol running through his veins. How could he have been such an idiot? They were in no shape to do anything now…

"Here," Kai said, stumbling to her feet and dragging Vincent up next to her, "Let's see if we can walk in a straight line."

They started down the beach. Dusk was coming on, and on this side of the island, the sun was sinking into the ocean, bleaching it in shades of orange and red. It was quite a spectacular sight, one neither of them had ever seen before. The beach was beginning to empty as one by one, groups of people moved up onto the boardwalk to go to dinner or do whatever else you did on vacation.

"I feel really funny," Kai mentioned after a couple minutes. She stumbled in the sand, bumping into Vincent's side.

"Watch it," he laughed.

"Hey, it's not my fault," Kai protested, "I'm drunk, remember?"

The two of them meandered down the beach, coming at one point to a large dock that jutted out from the boardwalk into the sea. It was dark, the Mako-generated lights either broken or switched off at the moment.

"Vincent," Kai said softly.

"Yeah?" he asked, mildly surprised even through the haze of the alcohol that she had used his full name.

"Do you think we're gonna die?" It was a simple question, stripped of all her normal bravado.

Vincent took a moment to answer. He had thought about the same thing countless times and still hadn't come to a conclusion. A few days ago, he wouldn't have cared if he died; he had nothing to live for. His father was gone, his two best friends were gone (one buy her own volition) and he was on a fruitless chase across the Planet. But now, looking at Kai, he realized he did have something to live for. Something important.

He didn't know if it was because this had finally occurred to him, or it was simply the fact that he was drunk, but a sudden, reckless daring seized him. Without stopping to consider anything, he grabbed Kai's hands in his own. They were strangely cold for the temperature.

"No, we're not going to die," he answered her.

It was strange how something like crossing a continent in search of revenge could bring to people together. Vincent felt closer to Kai than he had ever felt to anyone else. This time, he did put his arms around her, pulling her close to him. . He had never kissed anyone before, but it wasn't difficult to figure out. He pressed his mouth to Kai's, and he was immensely pleased to find she didn't try to pull away and even more pleased when she kissed him back. She seemed to know a little bit more of what she was doing.

And suddenly, the fact that they might be facing imminent death didn't matter anymore. All of the pain that had threatened to devour him over the last few days melted away. Vincent didn't know what being in love felt like, but this had to be pretty damn close.

But then, a few minutes later, something happened that kicked both of them back into reality so fast that it could have left a bruise. Rolling over Costa del Sol came a sound. It was something you never expected to hear in Kalm, but Vincent knew what it was, and it _really_ brought back the thought of imminent death.

A ship's horn.


	10. Broken

Disclaimer: I do not own the ff7 characters, I believe you know the rest. I'm too tired to come up with anything witty.

Author's Note: So, Kai and Vincent have finally kissed. I've had a lot of people say "About time!" I guess I did kind of drag it out. Hey, they had other things on their minds, kay? They don't have their minds completely in the gutter (though their author does)

And sorry about how long this chapter took to come up. I had writer's block for quite awhile and then I went on a trip to Michigan and had a lot of fun. Yes, I know. Run on sentence, but shouldn't I write crappy in the author's note and well in the story?

Brace yourselves. Here comes the most riveting chapter yet!

Chapter 10

Broken

Hojo awoke to the sound of insistent ringing. It was dark in the office, but he managed to pull himself up into the leather chair. He groped around the desk, muttering something blearily. His hand closed around a small cellular phone.

"Yes?" he asked, hitting 'on'. He left the video feed off (he didn't look too hot when he woke up) but he could tell who it was from the voice. He was instantly alert.

"Hello, Sir?"

"Erika? Is that you, Miss Turk?"

"Yes Sir," came the answer. "Just reporting in. We've reached our destination of Costa del Sol. We'll be to the lab by this evening."

"Do tell me, Erika," Hojo said, holding the phone closer to his mouth so she could still hear, his voice having dropped to a whisper, "Why are late in contacting me?"

There was a slight pause. "It's Sephiroth, sir. He's been more of a…handful than usual on this mission. He seems to be beginning to fight the hypnosis."

"Well then, we'll just have to come up with something stronger, won't we?" Hojo answered her.

"Yes sir."

Hojo felt a thrill of excitement as he asked the question that had been nagging at him all night. "What of our Mr. Valentine?"

Erika chuckled maliciously. "Oh, well, he and his little whore thought they were being clever, catching a ride with that idiot pilot. But don't worry, we're way ahead of them. As always."

Hojo smiled. "Good, good, I await your return with anticipation. Oh, and Erika?"

"Yes sir?"

"You can kill his whore."

"Yes sir." The line went dead. Hojo smiled wider and dropped the phone back on his cluttered desk. Everything was going the way he had planned it. He liked it when things went the way he planned them. Erika was such a good candidate for leader of the Turks. She was strong, smart, and completely ruthless. Most importantly, she had no conscience. Stretching, he spun his chair back around.

"Did you hear that, my dear?"

"Yes," a quiet voice came from the darkness at his feet. Lucrecia sat up, a single band of moonlight leaking through the window's blind illuminating her dilated eyes and slightly tousled hair. "I'm guessing it's business as usual when they return."

"But of course, my dear." Hojo couldn't help grinning at the pained look on her face as he spoke. He had always thought Lucrecia looked beautiful when she was in pain.

"You'll see, everything will come out just fine," he said, sliding to the carpet beside her, a sudden desire to see her in pain again filling him. He knew she was only too obliged to give him what he wanted.

Vincent felt vaguely sick. He and Kai were crouched in the shadows of the dock. Since they had been there that afternoon, another ship had joined the ones already tied to the posts spaced along the long wooden platform. It was larger than all the others, and was clearly not a commercial vessel. It looked more like a cargo ship. This wasn't very surprising, as Vincent was sure the Turks wouldn't have any trouble getting aboard anything, whether it belonged to a pauper or a prince.

He rubbed his eyes, trying to make them focus. He was still feeling the effects of that damn alcohol he and Kai had drunk. How could they have been so careless? They just hadn't been thinking, that was all. It was beginning to wear off, but he still felt kind of loopy. As much as people seemed to like getting drunk, he decided he didn't. The fire running through his veins had the opposite effect of adrenaline. It made him feel slow and stupid, and all he wanted to do was curl up in a warm corner and go to sleep. He was sure Kai felt the same way.

He glanced over at her. Her face was dead set. She knew what they were jumping into, and she didn't look frightened at all. Vincent knew better. She was as breathless with fear as he was, she had told him so back on the beach. It felt like they had left a part of themselves back there, the part that wanted peace, the part that didn't want to risk death. Vincent was ignoring that part with ferocity.

"Last chance to just get a hotel room instead," Kai said, slipping him a grin.

"No, we're going," Vincent answered, not even acknowledging her joke. There would be plenty of time for that sort of thing later. He hoped.

Gesturing for her to follow, he began to climb the dock ladder. They emerged on the top, which was completely deserted. That was odd; the city was filled with night time revelers busy enjoying their vacations, it stood to reason that there would be at least a few people over by the ships. He couldn't help thinking that they had all been bribed away or possibly threatened, which was much more likely. But did that mean the Turks were waiting for them? Vincent's heart skipped as he realized it all could be a trap.

But that didn't make any sense. There was no way that the Turks could have known they had met up with Cid; for all they knew, Vincent and Kai were still chugging through the ocean on some tiny transport ship. Yes, that was it. They would take them completely unexpected.

Still nervous regardless of his mind trying to rationalize the situation, Vincent started for the cargo ship's ramp. There was no logical way he could have known, but something told him, made him believe _utterly _that Erika was on board. It was like a sixth sense tingling at the base of his skull. There was also another sense yelling at him to get the hell out of there while he still had the chance, but he wasn't listening. This was not the time for second thoughts.

The first thing he realized as he and Kai reached the top of the ramp was that there was someone else there. A watchman; standing back in the shadows of the mainsail. From the way he was standing, Vincent could tell he was holding a gun.

The watch's eyes flashed. With a gruff yell, he leapt at them. Vincent stumbled backwards, fumbling for his gun, but, as always, Kai was way ahead of him. Not even bothering to reach for her weapon, she delivered a quick snap-quick to the charging man's head. He crumpled to the ground immediately.

"Huh," Kai said, "Idiot, why didn't he just use his gun..?"

Vincent grinned at her fondly. Even at moments of highest stress, Kai didn't lose her composure. She never lost her composure. It was more than he could say for himself. He was just stumbling along, trying not to get killed. Of course, if his survival instincts were any good, they would have told him to stumble in the opposite direction.

"Where would the Turks be?" Kai asked as they started along the deck, heading for the stern.

"How would I know, I never even been on one of these dumps…Here, down here." A shadowy passage had opened up in the deck. A small staircase led down it.

Kai looked doubtful. "We shouldn't go down there, Vince. If they're up on the deck, they'll have us cornered."

Vincent hesitated. It was a good point, one that he hadn't considered. But regardless of that, the dark yawning entrance to the bowls of the ship enticed him.

"This is it, I know it is," he said firmly, "Someone is down here."

"Alright, if you say so." She looked at him quizzically. "Do you have a psychic connection to that Seph kid or something?"

Vincent groaned. "Dear God, I hope not. Now shut up, we have to be sneaky."

All that did was make Kai go into a fit of giggles, which she attempted to stave of by shoving her fist into her mouth. Vincent smiled. A little levity before a fight was always nice, but they had to keep serious.

"This is it," he said, keeping his voice steady, "No more letting them get away, no more false alarms. They're here, I can feel it. And we're going to get them."

Kai, who was done giggling, flashed him a sly smile. "You know we are."

She pushed past him, leading the way down the stairs. At the bottom, they paused for a few moments to let their eyes adjust. The interior was silent and smelled of something sharp and sweet, almost…cinnamon? That was an extremely ridiculous notion. Ships smelled of, well, _shipy _things; fish, salt, mildew. Not cooking spices.

The stairs had led to a wide hall. Once again, one of the last things Vincent would have expected to see in a ship. It seemed to take up the entire interior of the ship, and it was completely empty. It occurred to him that this could have been the cargo hold. But then where were all the sleeping quarters and the galley and everything else that was supposed to be on a ship? Vincent glanced at Kai, expecting her to be just as confused as he was, but her eyes were locked on something in the center of the hall, something he hadn't seen at first, though he wondered how he could have missed it.

In fact, it was more than one something. A circle shimmered on the wooden boards of the floor, looking like it had been drawn with silvery chalk. Inside the circle were two things. The first was a large, old-fashioned wooden chest, complete with a large metal lock. Beside it lay a body. Vincent gasped and ran forward.

It was Seph. He wasn't moving, he didn't even seem to be breathing. He was still wearing the same torn-up black garments he had had on when Vincent had found him in Scarlet's shed. His hair was dirty and strewn about; the exact same color as the circle on the floor.

Kai's eyes were wide. "Is that...?"

"Yeah. That's Seph." Vincent moved to check his pulse, but the moment his foot touched the edge of the circle, there was a crackle of energy, and he was thrown backwards. He hit the ground hard, his head snapping back against the boards. Blackness swirled at the edges of his vision, but he fought to remain conscious. Slowly, painfully, he sat up.

"What on the Planet was that?"

"A barrier," Kai answered, offering a hand to pull him up, "It looks like the Turks have gone fishing and left Seph and whatever the hell is in that chest protected. _Really _protected, I've never seen one so powerful that it could throw someone across a room."

"Right, great," Vincent said, rubbing his head gingerly, "And how do we take it down?"

Kai shrugged. "I have no clue. You'll have to ask Erika."

Vincent laughed humorlessly. That wasn't going to happen. They would have to find a way to get rid of the barrier on their own. And quickly; they didn't know when the Turks would be back. On a whim, he pulled out his gun and fired a couple shots towards the circle. The sound of the gun rang out, amplified by the size of the hall. Thick Cracks spider webbed themselves through thin air, as the bullets strove to penetrate the barrier, and for a moment Vincent thought it had worked. But then the air above the silver line glowed, and the bullets vanished in a flash of light.

"Damn it!" Vincent yelled. A blind fury was working itself through him, intensified no doubt by the alcohol.

"That won't work, Vince," Kai said gently, prying the gun from his fingers, "Force won't work, you're lucky the shots didn't ricochet of and hit you."

"How then?" Vincent demanded.

"I just told you, I don't know!" Kai snapped, her temper rising.

Vincent didn't respond to her. Instead, he approached the barrier, stopping inches away from the edge of the silver circle. Though he couldn't see anything, he could definitely feel it there; humming with some sort of suppressed intensity. He was sure it would come to life the second anything touched it. Regardless of this, he pressed a hand to it.

Vincent expected to be blasted off his feet again, but instead the energy that made up the barrier wavered. A second later, it dispersed into thin air. The circle at his feet disappeared. He had taken down the barrier. But how? Bullets hadn't been able to penetrate it and he had barely touched it. He glanced back at Kai. She looked as surprised as he was.

"What did you do?"

"I don't know," he answered, waving the question aside, "It doesn't matter anyway." He focused his attention on Seph, who was as motionless as he had been when they had come in. His pulse was strong and steady, but his eyes were closed tightly and he didn't respond when Vincent shook him by the shoulders. He was either unconscious or under some sort of spell. The latter seemed much more likely. He recalled back to when Seph had been abducted, the same night all hell had broken loose in Kalm. Reno had done something strange to him, something that made him follow compliantly. It would be just as easy to put him into some sort of magical sleep. Vincent didn't know much about that kind of stuff.

But Kai did. She pushed him aside. "Here, I'll do it." She bent down and put a hand to Seph's forehead. Then she pulled back his eyelids, like a doctor checking a patient for signs of life. Vincent tried to read her expression, but her face was blank.

"Well?" he prodded, "Can you wake him up?"

In answer, Kai placed her left hand on the top of Seph's head. She closed her eyes and a small blue glow seeped from her fingers, the same glow that had appeared when she had healed Vincent's torn muscle. Nothing happened.

Kai shook her head. "I've never seen anything like this before. He's not in there."

Vincent didn't understand. "What do you mean, 'not in there'?"

Kai hit the floor in frustration. "This doesn't make any sense! His body is completely fine, alive and everything, but he's…his spirit, or whatever the hell is inside us…He doesn't have one. Either that or it's been caged."

Vincent's eyes grew wide. "Can someone really do that?" he gasped, "Can you really cage someone's…soul?"

"I've heard of it done, but I've never met anyone who could. You have to have some fucking serious power going on to do this, Vince." Kai's eyes were afraid. "I think we may be in over our heads."

Vincent was about to argue this point, when he remembered the other thing that had been in the circle. He turned to the chest. "Do you think you can pick this lock?" he asked Kai, feeling the cool metal in his hands, "It doesn't look too-,"

There was a soft click and the lock sprang open. Vincent looked at it in bewilderment. He hadn't done anything at all. Hell, he _couldn't _do anything. But there was the lock, in his hands, open like magic.

"Well?" Kai said, "Don't sit there looking like a moron. Open it!"

Vincent obeyed. He didn't know what he was expecting to find inside, but what he did find was definitely not it. Light of every color of the rainbow spilled from the chest, illuminating the shadowy hall. The light was coming from little spheres, no bigger than marbles. Though Vincent had never seen it before, he knew exactly what it was.

"Materia," he breathed excitedly. He now knew where the strange cinnamony smell had come from. The tiny, portable creation of concentrated Mako energy that gave the wearer incredible strength, speed, endurance, inelegance, or anything else that you could desire. And it was said to smell of cooking spices. He had always just assumed that was a popular joke. It was very expensive and difficult to make. And here was tons of it, jumbled together in a chest in the empty hold of an old ship.

"Well I'll be downright damned," Kai laughed, leaning over his shoulder to see into the chest. "That's why there isn't a fricking thing in the entire place."

"Why not?" Vincent asked, glancing at her.

"Materia contaminates everything around it when it's not being worn. See the inside of the chest?" She pointed at the sides, which were coated in some kind of metal. "That's lead. It's stops a lot of it from getting out, but it can't stop all of it."

Vincent snapped the lid shut. "Do you think that's what happened to Seph? Will it happen to us?" He stood up and backed away from the chest.

Kai giggled. "Short-term exposure won't do anything, I'm sure. As for Seph…I have no idea what the repercussions of being so close to it might be. Depends on how long he's been here."

Vincent looked at her sharply. "I had no idea you were such a brain. "Repercussions' is a big word."

"Shut up," Kai ordered, punching him lightly on the arm, "I've got brains; I hide it well. Just don't tell anyone."

"Okay," Vincent grinned, "I guess we better get him out of here, huh?" He was trying to work out the best way to carry Seph off the ship, when Kai mentioned something he had forgotten about.

"What about Erika?"

Vincent didn't answer right away. Oh yeah. They had only found half of what they had came for. He still had to kill Erika. But looking now at the two people in the hold with him, Kai standing and Seph slumped on the ground, he wondered. Was it really that important? If they could just get away, so far that the Shinra would never find them, they would be safe. It would take a lot of effort, but eventually he would be able to…

"Forget Erika," Vincent said, hefting Seph onto his back in a fire-man's hold, "It doesn't matter, we can just-,"

"Aww, Vincent, that hurts."

Vincent felt ice gather in his stomach. His back was to the door. He turned.

There was Erika, standing on the threshold, in all her leather-clad Turk glory, looking immensely pleased with herself. Just behind her was Reno. They were both holding guns. Tseng and Scarlet were nowhere to be seen, but Vincent didn't think they could be very far away.

Life was so damn ironic. Just as he had decided to give up this suicidal chase, he turns around to find who? Erika, springing a trap, for he now knew that that's exactly what it had all been. Kai was right, the chest and Seph, they were both just bait to lure them into the hold from which there was no escape. They had walked right into it. Vincent slowly let Seph down to the ground. He was making his shoulders ache.

"Put your hands up and stand next to him." Erika pointed at the silver-haired boy with her gun. Vincent and Kai obeyed. "Bring Sephiroth here, Reno."

Reno slid his gun into its holster and walked over to where the circle had been. Heaving Seph unceremoniously off the ground, he dragged him back to Erika. At any moment, Vincent expected to be shot, but neither of them moved. The Turk leader probably wanted to gloat. That meant they had half a chance.

"Let's face it, Vinny," Erika laughed, "You're screwed."

"Uh huh," Vincent answered, barely paying attention. He had to think of a plan, but he also had to distract Erika from shooting. He looked up. "How do you know my name?" He failed to mention that he absolutely hated being called 'Vinny'.

Erika and Reno smirked. "Well, let's just say the boss has had his eye on you for quite some time now."

"The boss?" Kai repeated.

"Yes, the boss, little Bandit girl," Reno answered, sweeping his blazing red hair from his eyes, "And he's interested in Mr. Valentine, not you."

"He's interested in me?" Vincent asked.

"Your last name is Valentine?" Kai asked, something between shock and laughter hovering in her eyes, "Embarrassing."

Vincent gave her a look. "Not really, it's more like-,"

"Enough!" Erika was getting impatient. "This isn't a tea party, people. So shut up and listen." She turned to Vincent. "Come with us quietly, and we won't have to hurt anybody. Much." The last word she said while her eyes flicked to Kai.

"Don't go with them, Vince," Kai said, and he could tell she was fighting to stay calm, "Erika's lying. What could a Shinra boss want with you? They're here for Seph and the Materia."

Before Vincent could agree, several things happened in very rapid succession. Seph's eyes snapped open. He took one look around the room, then bit Reno's hand viciously. And Reno, who wasn't prepared for this, let go of him. At the same time, the boat keeled dangerously to one side and the sound of it hitting the dock was audible. This threw everyone of balance, and knocked Seph into a wall as he hastened to get up the steps.

But the only thing Vincent could see was that Erika was distracted. Yelling something incoherent, he leapt toward her, drawing his gun as he went. But all Erika had really done was take one glance at Seph, and she was facing him again in an instant. Her gun was in her hand, and she had been doing this a lot longer than he had. The last thing Vincent saw before the gun cracked was Erika's smirking face.

A moment later, he was lying on the wooden floor a few feet to the right of the bullet's path. He looked up, confused. How had he gotten here? What he saw made his blood run cold. Kai, kneeling on the ground, hands clutching at her stomach.

Erika put her gun up. "We'll meet you up on the deck then, boy. Come when she's bled dry. And don't worry about Sephiroth. He may have gotten away but I'm sure Tseng's got him up on the deck. Later."

Vincent hadn't heard any of that. He didn't even watch as the two Turks ascended the stairs. He was too busy looking at Kai. As he rushed to her side, she gave a little moan and slumped to the floor. Her body was shaking and her eyes were clouding over.

"Kai!" Vincent yelled, his voice close to hysterical, "Don't die, please don't die! We'll get you to a hospital, I swear. Just, don't…die."

Kai was trying to focus on his face. "No, it won't help. Don't interrupt me," she ordered, as he began to protest. "Everyone's life's gotta end, Vince, and I'll be damned if mine's gonna end in any other way than going down in the fight against the Shinra, and I have." She was forced to stop here and cough for a moment, the effort of speaking taking a toll on her. But watching her, Vincent realized there was no point in telling her to reserve her strength. Blood was seeping from the wound, spreading across her shirt. The bullet had done its job. He felt tears start in his eyes.

"No! There's no way I'm gonna just let you give up\," he yelled, regardless. Kai, the last person he had in the world was dying before his eyes. He couldn't take it.

Kai raised a hand and touched his face gently. "Shut up. You always did talk too much." A sob wracked Vincent's body as he grabbed the hand and squeezed it tightly. Kai's grip was much weaker than his.

Her bright green eyes were beginning to lose their brilliance. "I'm glad I got to help you, Vince, and I'm glad I got to kiss you." She buried her face in the front of his shirt as she spoke. He remained there, holding her, until her grip on his hand went limp. Vincent looked into her face, her eyes now no more than empty holes, and gave out a tortured, animal-like cry. He didn't care if the Turks heard it, they could all rot in hell.

Erika had taken everything away from him. His father, Gon, Scarlet, and now Kai. Now he knew, more than ever, that she had to die. He would kill her, and everyone else that worked for the Shinra Corporation.

Gently, he set Kai's body down on the floor. "I love you," he whispered, standing up. Why hadn't he told her that while she was still here? Hell, why hadn't he told her back at the dock?

_I was too scared to, _he thought in disgust, _I'm nothing but a coward. But maybe I can do some good. _

Pulling his gun out, he stood up and began to climb the stairs to the deck. A red mist was settling over his eyes, making him feel crazier than anything he had ever experienced. He felt dangerous, he felt insane. He needed to kill every last one of the Turks, and after that he had no idea what he would do. Maybe he would drown himself in the harbor, if it would kill the growing ache in his chest, if it would get Kai's face out of his mind.

Reaching the deck, he barely paused as he saw Tseng turn from where he had been looking out to sea. Without so much as a second glance, Vincent fired. Tseng screamed as the bullet ripped through his shoulder, sending him toppling off the ship into the clear waters of Costa del Sol. He didn't have time to worry about he; there was only one person he was concerned with at the moment, and she was standing at the stern. Beside her were Scarlet and Reno, who had one arm on Seph, which was once again in some sort of catatonic trance.

As Vincent approached, Erika smiled approvingly at him. "Very good, you're beginning to learn."

"Learn what?" Vincent couldn't help asking.

"Learning to do whatever you have to do to get what you want," she answered, indicating that Scarlet should go fish Tseng out of the water, "You want to kill me, right?" Her eyes narrowed. "What are you going to do about it?"

Vincent raised his gun, but before he could even put his finger on the trigger, a spot on the deck a foot to the left of him exploded in a flurry of splinters. Erika had shot so fast he hadn't even see her move.

"That'll never work, Vinny," she laughed, "You'll die before you can fire. But that wouldn't be any fun for me." She smirked and, to Vincent's surprise, put her gun away. Instead, she pulled out two long daggers from the back of her belt. Taking a few steps forward, she tossed one to Vincent, who caught it, narrowly missing slicing off a few of his fingers.

"What?" he asked blankly.

"I'm giving you an honest chance to kill me. Let's go."

She began to circle around towards him. Vincent, who had never used a dagger before in his life, copied her. He wouldn't really call this an 'honest' chance, more like a one-sided contest, but he wouldn't give up. As he understood it, you had to stab the person with the pointy end. How hard could it be?"

"I imagine you're feeling rather upset at the moment, aren't you, Vinny?" Erika asked in a voice full of false concern. She took a swipe at him, forcing him to take a rather undignified hop backwards.

"No worse than your gonna feel," he answered after he had got his footing. He tried a haphazard thrust with the knife, but didn't even come close to Erika. He doubted he could have hit her if she had been standing still.

"You really loved that little bandit whore, didn't you?" Erika asked, "Too bad she had to bleed to death. And you probably never got a chance to profess your _true feelings_?"

Vincent could feel his anger beginning to boil over. With a strangled cry, he leapt at the Turk leader, swinging the dagger like one of the axes he used to chop wood with back at home. Erika didn't move, and for a second he thought he had her. But a moment later, she stepped to one side, swinging her knife up in an arc. Vincent's own weapon clattered to the deck. He felt a sharp pain in his wrist. He glanced at his left arm. He didn't have a wrist left.

Lying on the deck beside the dagger was his hand, bleeding slowly.

Vincent screamed. He fell to his knees, cradling his bleeding stump of an arm. Now that he saw it, the pain came in full measure. He had never felt anything this horrible in his life. There was nothing he could compare it with.

"Well, that's done," Erika commented, sliding the bloody blade back into its scabbard. She leaned down until she and Vincent were face to face. "You've been beaten. Lucky for you the boss wants what's left of you. Come quietly, and we'll let you live, and we'll even give you a new hand. How does that sound?"

Vincent made a sound in his throat halfway between a growl and a sob.

Erika laughed quietly. "Oh, you'll say yes, because then you'll have another chance at killing me."

Blackness was beginning to ebb at the corners of Vincent's vision. He wouldn't last much longer with his arm bleeding so freely. Very slightly, so that Erika barely saw it, he nodded.

Lucrecia watched as they brought him in. A tan, muscular boy with dirty black hair and his arm wrapped in bandages. He was a lot younger than she had imagined. He looked so defenseless and innocent, lying there on the operating table surrounded by scientists and doctors.

Lucrecia knew that would all change.


	11. The Shinra Labs

Disclaimer: I do not own the ff7 characters. Yevon bless the creators of this fantastic game. I want to give them all a hug. Except not really.

Author's note: So we have finally made it to Part II! The first part really had nothing at all to do with the game…and frankly, this next bit might not be as accurate as it could be, but please bare with me. I have only played through the game once, so I don't know every name of every person in every place on the whole damn Planet.

Thanks

Chapter 11

The Shinra Labs

Deep in the northern mountains, hidden by the swirling snow and wind, one of Shinra's secret labs made its home. This was where the more unsavory endeavors of the company took place. Only the best were hired, and only the newest, most expensive equipment was used. All in all, the amount of Gil put into the labs each month was enough to feed a dozen starving northern villages for a year.

But saving victims of poverty wasn't on Shinra's agenda.

One thing that _was_ on the agenda, however, was currently waking up ahead of schedule in the stasis room.

He was only vaguely aware of the many wires and needles piercing his skin, and his eyes weren't working properly. Attempting to feel his way out of wherever he was, he found himself encased in something hard and cool. He was in some glass tank of some kind.

He pounded on the surface, thrashing from side to side and nearly ripping out all of the needles, though he couldn't feel it. His whole body was numb. With a sudden hissing sound, the tank opened. He must have tripped some sort of switch. The dark haired boy gasped as the first breath of unfiltered air he had tasted in a month filled his lungs. Stumbling out, he felt his knees connect with the hard floor. He sat there for a few minutes, trying to calm his breathing. Very slowly, he was beginning to be able to see again. At first it was just light, followed by rough shapes and shadows. Eventually, he was able to make out his surroundings.

He was in a lab, that much was clear. It was lit with harsh, Mako-powered lights that gave everything a slightly unhealthy tinge. The floor he was crouching on was tiled and looked so clean you could probably have licked it. Apart from the ruined tank he had escaped from, there were others, spaced along three of the walls. Most were empty, but several had occupants, many of which were to horrible to contemplate.

The closest one was filled with some sort of greenish liquid, and the thing inside seemed to be nothing but a tangle of human arms. Just looking at it made him feel sick. But it got worse from there. In another of the tanks was what once may have been a human woman, but she was lacking arms, breasts, and hair, and her skin was bright blue. Her eyes were wide open, and the pupils were jet black. She didn't seem to be breathing. Yet another glass prison had something that looked like a cross between a dog and a cat. It was breathing softly, a long string of needles running down its spine.

The last tank that was occupied wasn't very terrifying at all. Inside it was a man, tall and pale, with long, shining silver hair. His eyes were closed and he seemed to be asleep. He was completely naked and the boy, looking down at himself, realized he was as well. He glanced around the lab. His eyes fell on several white lab coats hung neatly on a rack. Getting very slowly to his feet, he limped across the room. Grabbing the closest coat, he wrapped it around himself, and suddenly realized how cold he was.

He wanted to find some warmer clothes. Then he wanted to try to figure out where the hell he was. And for that matter, who the hell he was.

"Sir?"

Hojo glanced up from the reports he was going through. "Lucrecia!" he exclaimed, as though nothing could have pleased him more, "What can I do for you?"

Lucrecia pushed her hair back from her eyes nervously. Why did she always have to be the one to convey messages to Shinra's top scientist? "Number 452, Sir," she said, "It's ready to wake up."

"Wonderful!" Hojo stood up, donning his white lab coat, "I'll go at once." However, as he passed Lucrecia, he paused. Leaning forward, he kissed her. The familiar feeling of disgust swept over her, but she knew it wouldn't last. It never did. With some effort, she pushed him off. He stumbled back into his desk, thrown off balance.

"What's the matter?" he asked, though his tone said he already knew the answer.

"Everything!" Lucrecia snapped, "Absolutely everything! This can't keep going on! I told you right after I came to work here, we're over."

Hojo's expression didn't change, but she could see the anger in his eyes. If there was one thing this man hated, it was being stood up to. Without taking his gaze off of her face, he yanked off his black gloves, one at a time. Lucrecia shrank back, but he grabbed her elbow. Pain shot up her arm and she gritted her teeth to keep from yelling. She refused to give him that satisfaction.

Drawing her close to him, he whispered, "It's over when I say it's over. Here, in this facility, I am God." He kissed her again, forcing her lips apart and pinning her to the wall. She seemed to end up like this a lot. Calling on all reserves of mental and physical strength, she shoved him off once again.

"This is so wrong," she muttered, wiping her mouth.

"I know," Hojo smirked, running a hand up her back, "But if it wasn't, you wouldn't like it half as much."

"You're insane," Lucrecia growled, "Stay the hell away from me or-,"

Suddenly, the lights began to flash and a howling siren filled the facility. Both Hojo and Lucrecia knew what this meant. Something had escaped from the labs. They glanced at each other, then leapt from the office.

"Lucrecia, I want you to go to your rooms. This thing could be dangerous." Hojo's face was fierce, and all Lucrecia could do was nod. The next second, he was sprinting up the hall, lab coat flapping behind him.

She set off in the opposite direction, heading towards the habitation sector of the labs. She moved quickly, just short of breaking into a run. She didn't even want to begin to imagine the sort of monster that could have escaped from the experimentation labs. She had seen it before; a giant spider with thirteen legs, a headless goat, and worst of all, one of the genetically mutated humans. That had stayed with her for some time.

Lucrecia turned one of those annoyingly blind corners of the corridors, and suddenly came face to face with someone. She knew instantly who the breakout had been.

The boy they had brought in over a month ago. He had been operated on and then put into stasis. The date of his awakening had not yet come; somehow he had had the strength to pull himself out. It seemed to have taken quite a toll on him. He looked a lot different than before; paler, thinner, and more haunted, but there was no denying the thick black hair and strangely delicate features. He was clothed in nothing but a lab coat, which he clutched tightly around himself.

Though they neither of them had been moving very fast, their slight impact had sent him stumbling to the ground. He coughed and looked up at her. His eyes were clouded with fever. His body had not taken well to the Mako energy. But then again, no body ever did.

"Where…" he managed to gasp, "Where…this…"

Lucrecia's fear immediately evaporated into pity. Obviously, this boy wasn't insane. Though if they continued to experiment on him, she knew it would only be a matter of time. Without really thinking about it, she extended a hand to him. He looked at it for a moment, as though unsure of what to do. With a sigh, Lucrecia bent down and hoisted him to his feet. His skin was very cold and felt charged oddly tingly.

"Kai? Kai, is that you?" he mumbled.

He touched her face with a pale hand. Obviously, he thought Lucrecia was someone else. She looked into his eyes and shuddered. They were bright blue and glowed with some inner light. Lucrecia had seen it before many times. "Mako energy," she muttered. It didn't leave you unscarred.

"It's alright," she said, patting him awkwardly on the head. The contact seemed to briefly pull him up from the brink. His eyes cleared a little.

"Where am…what is this place?" he choked out. His voice was barely there, a deep whisper that was almost inaudible.

Lucrecia hesitated. Fraternizing with the test subjects was something that was frowned upon in Shinra Labs. She had already broken about 80 rules by not taking the subject back to Hojo at once. But was that really right? Looking at him now, he just looked like a lost little boy. He couldn't have been more than sixteen, the same age Lucrecia had been when she had first come to this godforsaken company.

"Follow me," she said kindly, taking him by the hand.

It was at that moment that the boy suddenly became aware of himself for the first time after waking up from the stasis.

It was like someone had flipped a switch in his head. He no longer felt like he was walking through a dream, watching himself from the sidelines. He was following a woman down a laboratory corridor. He knew that much. The only thing was, he couldn't remember how he had gotten there, or why, or what he was supposed to be doing.

And now that he thought about it, he didn't even know his own name.

The woman in front of him didn't look like Kai. That thought crossed his mind, and he suddenly wondered who Kai was. He couldn't get a picture of the face in his mind.

At any rate, the woman in front of him was older than he was (he didn't know how he knew that, but he did) and she had silver hair that reminded him vaguely of someone, though he couldn't place who. The woman was wearing a white lab coat, and ran with a certain grace that suggested she could have been some kind of dancer.

"Where are we going?" he wanted to ask, but it was all he could do to just keep running. He wondered how long they would have to keep going. It felt like they had already run about two miles. How big was this place, exactly? It seemed like nothing but an endless expanse of sterile-looking white hallways and sliding doors.

"Here," the woman said. She had stopped in front of a door that looked no different than any of the others. Pulling out a small silver card, she swiped it through the sensor to the left of the door. There was a slight whirring sound and the door slid open. The woman moved to pull him inside, but before she could, someone came around the corner in the corridor.

He looked rather like a non-descript lab assistant. He stopped when he saw Lucrecia.

"Hojo knows you've found the subject," he called to her, "He wants to see both of you in his office, now." With his message delivered, he turned abruptly and left.

Lucrecia glanced back at the boy. "I guess we'd better…" she slipped her card back into her lab coat. Turning, she began to lead the way to where they'd come. The boy followed without question.

She had been being stupid. Of course Hojo would want to see him right away, to make sure he wasn't about to go on a rampage and tear apart the base, and also to see if his experiment had ended up in the form he wished it to. Lucrecia didn't know why she had been leading to boy to her private rooms. It wasn't like she could do anything to help him. He was property of the Shinra now.

"Hey, what's your name?" she asked abruptly.

The boy blinked. His eyes were very tired. It was a good question. What was his name? He cast around his mind, trying to pull something recognizable from the swirling river of his thoughts.

"Vince," he said finally. He seemed to remember someone calling him that.

"Alight, Vince," Lucrecia said, "Here we are."

She had stopped outside of a door that was identical to all of the others in the facility. This one however, made him cringe as he stepped over the threshold. He had a feeling there was something very unpleasant inside…

"Ah, Mr. Valentine. Thank you for joining me."

The office was quite small and extremely cluttered. So high were the stacks of papers and file folders on the desk, that at first he didn't even notice the man sitting behind it. But then he stood up, taking off his glasses and setting them down on the desk.

"I am Dr. Hojo, head scientist here at Shinra Inc." He smiled, though his eyes remained the same; hard and cold.

Vince was taken aback. This man was the head scientist? He couldn't have been more than twenty-five, and he wasn't quite what Vince would have imagined. When he thought 'head scientist' he saw an older, bearded man holding a clipboard, though he had no idea where that image came from. Dr. Hojo had no clipboard, and he could have even passed for handsome, if it hadn't been for those black, lightless eyes.

His gaze of fell on Lucrecia. "Leave. You have things to take care of." He looked back at Vince. "Have a seat." Vince sat.

Lucrecia looked for a moment as though she might argue, but then she said, "Of course." Inclining her head slightly, she left.

For a few moments, Vince just sat there, feeling uncomfortable. Dr. Hojo's eyes weren't leaving his face. He tried to match the gaze, but it was no use. He couldn't look into those twin pools of darkness for too long without feeling dizzy.

"How are you feeling?" Hojo asked suddenly. He didn't sound as though he really cared, more like he was just slightly curious.

"I'm fine," Vince answered quietly, though it was a lie. He was everything but fine. He was in some strange place, and from what he had already seen, he was some sort of science experiment. On top of that, he couldn't even remember if he had spent his life here, or if he had grown up somewhere else…

"I'm glad to hear that," Hojo said lightly, as though the two of them were old friends having a drink, "Now, can you be more honest? How do you _feel?" _His tone had suddenly become eager. "Have my experiments worked. Are you different? Answer me!"

Vince felt a stirring of something in his stomach. It took him a moment to realize that it was anger. Who was this man to demand anything of him?

"Maybe I could tell you," he began coolly, "If I could remember anything. Whatever you did to me, it erased my memory, and-,"

But Hojo was nodding his head. "I imagined something like this would happen. I should have told them to use less Mako…" he said this last part to himself.

There was this Mako again. Vince didn't know what it was, but something in his head seemed to connect **Mako **with **Bad**. Lucrecia had been talking about it, and now Hojo.

"What's Mako?" he tried asking.

"Ah," Hojo said, standing up and opening one of his desk drawers, "Perhaps this will help you remember." He pulled his hand out of the drawer. He was holding a small black handgun with a scarlet V emblazoned on the barrel.

For a moment, Vince just looked at it. Then, quite suddenly, something exploded inside his head. The levee had been broken. Fragmented thoughts and images began to race across his mind's eye. A wet forest, mud spattered kids walking through a town, the town in flames, and his father, lying dead on the ground. He saw the rolling plains of the Overworld, the stone corridors of the Mithril Mines, and he saw Kai. She was sitting beside him in the cramped interior of Cid's plane, she was standing with him by the sea, and she was lying bleeding on the ground, with Erika standing over her.

Vincent, for he now remembered that was his real name, jumped to his feet, his chair clattering to the ground. "What the hell?" he yelled, "Why am I here? Who the fucking hell are you?" he demanded Hojo, who was just sitting there, looking rather amused.

"I beg of you, Mr. Valentine, calm down," he said, holding down a chuckle, "You'll knock over my various important objects." He indicated the stacks of paper, file folders, and coffee mugs. Vincent couldn't tell if that was supposed to sarcasm or not. But he did sit back down, attempting to keep his temper under control. Kai had always been the one who dived into things head first. He would always stand back and consider.

_Use that to your advantage now, Vincent, _he told himself, _consider away. _

He pushed the thoughts of Kai out of his head, and fixed Hojo with what he hoped was a menacing glare. It probably came off as more of a grimace, though.

The head scientist shuffled his various important objects as he spoke, "I'm sure that gun triggered all the memory the procedures wiped from your head." He glanced up, hair flopping in his eyes. "Am I right?"

"Yeah," Vincent answered grudgingly, "But hell if I'm going to tell you about what happ-,"

"Oh, that doesn't matter," Hojo interrupted, "I already know about Kalm and your suicidal revenge. Tell me, did you really think a little hick boy like you with no Materia could actually take on a top Shinra operative?"

Vincent had an overpowering desire to knock this guy flat on his ass, but he had a feeling he was a lot stronger than he looked. He seemed like the type who would use the ability enhancers that only the rich could afford.

"Screw you," he said instead, "I'm going to kill Erika even if I go down with her."

For a moment, it looked as though something like rage had entered Hojo's eyes. But then he grinned, though it wasn't a friendly expression. It reminded Vincent a bit of the wolves that always attacked Kalm every winter.

"That's what I like to here," he said smoothly, "A man who isn't afraid of death. We could use someone like you here. Give your body some time to adjust to the arm, and you could be another Sephiroth."

Vincent was about to ask what Seph had to do with anything, when one of things Hojo had said registered.

"The arm?"

Vincent looked down at his hands. The right was flesh and blood, if a little paler than he remembered his skin to look like. The left hand, however, made him gasp in horror. It was gold, and shone like metal. He didn't know how he could have missed it before. It began a little above where his elbow had been, and ended in something that was more like a clawed gauntlet than a hand. He lifted it out in front of him, flexing the fingers. It could move just as well as his other arm.

"What the hell?" He looked back at Hojo. "Why'd you do this?"

"You were bleeding to death, my short-tempered friend. We saved you. We gave you a new arm."

"So you had to give me a special shiny gold one?"

Hojo rolled his eyes. "You're stupider than most. That one is much more powerful than a normal human limb. Three times as powerful, you'll find."

Slowly, Vincent lowered his new arm back into his lap. It felt natural, but it looked so _strange_. "Fine. What now?"

It was the most pressing question that he had at the moment. According to Erika, the Turks had been after him the whole time, not vice versa. So, they had got him, and all they did was give him a new arm. When he fainted on the deck of the ship back in Costa del Sol, he never expected to see another day.

"Now?" Hojo asked innocently, "Now you will become part of the Shinra corporation. Why do you think we're spending money on enhancing you?"

"I don't understand." Vincent said.

"No, I didn't think you would. I'm offering you a place in the Shinra corporation. As an agent."

Vincent stared at him for a moment. Then hysterical laughter began to pour from his mouth. Was this some kind of joke? After everything Shinra had done to bugger up his life, and now they were offering him a job? It was more than laughable. It was absurd.

Hojo waited for his laughter to subside. "Think about it. Working for this company, and with your enhanced body, it will be very easy to settle old grudges." He gave him what might have passed for a friendly wink. "Think about it. Now, go down to Lab…" he checked one of his papers, "…3. We have to get your vitals checked, make sure you're not about to drop dead. Go on."

Vincent stood up. He was outside the door standing in the hallway before he thought to mention that he had no idea where Lab 3 was. He spun around and turned the knob, opening the door again. He opened his mouth to ask, but Hojo wasn't there. The office was empty.

"What the..?"

"He has a tendency to do that."

Vincent looked over his shoulder. Lucrecia was leaning against the wall a little way down the corridor. "Disappear, you know? No one has a clue where he goes."

Vincent's scanned the office once more, and shut the door. "What do you want?" he asked.

"You're blunt," Lucrecia said, heels clicking as she approached, "I was just wondering how you're doing, that's all."

"I'm fine," Vincent answered stiffly, turning and striding down the corridor. He had no idea where he was going, but Lucrecia didn't need to know that.

"You have no idea where you're going," she called after him.

Shit.

"Sure I do," Vincent insisted, not looking back, "I'm going to Lab 3."

"Then you're going the wrong way."

Vincent stopped. He turned and tried to force his face into an appealing smile. "Do you know that way?" he asked, in a overly-cheerful tone.

"Yes, I do. But first I would suggest you get dressed." A small grin tugged the corner of her lips. "As attractive as that lab coat is, some parts you'll need later in life might freeze if we don't find you some pants."

Vincent felt his face burning as he wrapped the coat around him tighter. Lucrecia laughed, but it wasn't unfriendly. It felt more like she was laughing with him; as Kai might have. She started off in the direction Vincent had been heading previously.

"Wait!" he called, "I thought you said this wasn't the way…"

"Oh, that. I lied. I wanted to prove my point. Now come on."

Vincent followed a little hesitantly. This woman was definitely a lot to take, what with everything else going on. Looking at her, she seemed to be in her early twenties, but she spoke almost as Kai had. Though they looked nothing alike, he could see a resemblance.

Lucrecia led him to an identical door on an identical hallway. It had a plaque beside it that read: Laundry. Vincent thought that seemed extremely out of place. Here, together with a bunch of secret labs where they conducted secret experiments, was a room that was completely normal. He had never really seen as the people of Shinra as anything more than monsters; enemies. The realization that they had to do natural things like laundry unnerved him.

"Here," Lucrecia said, shoving a handful of garments into his hands. She went back out into the hallway, and he moved to follow her, when he caught sight of something. Sitting on a table, and freshly ironed by the look of it, was his coat. It was the same red, rather raggedy thing he remembered, though it seemed like it came from a different life. He grabbed it and quickly followed Lucrecia back into the hallway. She glanced at him as he caught up with her, but if she noticed the coat she didn't say anything.

Lab 3 looked about as inviting as the rest of the facility. Metal sinks and cabinets lined the walls, surrounding three uncomfortable looking examination tables. A hulking beast of a machine sat hunched in the corner, covered by various buttons and dials. Vincent had no idea what it was, and he hoped to never be put in a position to find out.

But the thing that interested him the most was the person sitting on the center table. Vincent recognized her at once, though her hair had been cut and she looked strangely older. He would have found the look on Scarlet's face as he entered almost comical, if his stomach hadn't suddenly begun to boil with rage.

With a growl, he leapt across the room, with much more speed than he remembered having. A moment later, he had knocked Scarlet of the table and onto the floor. Standing over her, he raised his clawed hand, while still attempting to keep the lab coat closed. He remained there motionless, for a few seconds, trying to will himself to do it. _Just kill her, she's a Turk! _the frightening part of his head yelled at him.

But before he could make a move, Scarlet sprang into action. Sweeping his legs out from under him, she grabbed a scalpel from the counter. There positions had been reversed; Vincent on the ground, Scarlet with a knife at his throat.

"That's enough!" Lucrecia seemed to have gotten over the initial shock of her patients attempting to kill each other. Vincent and Scarlet continued to glare at each other even after they had stood back up. Lucrecia looked from one to the other. "I don't know what the problem is, but I won't have you two killing each other in my lab. Vincent, go get dressed." She pointed to a door on the other side of the room.

Vincent did as he was told. The door led to a supply closet. It was a bit difficult, trying to pull on the clothes while trying to navigate around the various stacks of medical gloves, a few mops, and for some reason, dental floss. For one thing, these clothes weren't the ones he had had back on the ship. They were black and edged with silver, and made from a weird-feeling leather. They were also practically skin tight, and looked extremely familiar. There wasn't a mirror in the closet, but he imagined he looked rather stupid. He put his coat under his arm and stepped back out into the lab.

Another woman had joined Lucrecia and Scarlet. Vincent felt as though his insides were draining out of his body. Erika was now sitting on one of the other tables. As he shut the closet door, they turned. Erika let out a long, low whistle.

"Damn, Vinny. You look hot as a Turk." She was wearing a satisfied smirk. Vincent was just able to curb the impulse to rip out her throat. Anyway, he was more concerned by what she had said.

"As a Turk?" he asked, aghast. He had suddenly remembered where he had seen the outfit before. It was the same thing Tseng and Reno wore. The male clothing of Shinra's top operatives.

"There is no way I'm dressing like a Turk!" he yelled. He sounded like a spoiled child, and he knew it. But he also didn't care. He despised anything that had to do with the Turks, they had killed his father and Kai, and led him on a merry dance all over the Planet.

Lucrecia folded her arms. "Would you rather change back into that flimsy lab coat?"

Erika eyes roved their way up and down Vincent's form. "Ooh, that sounds good. Change back into the flimsy lab coat, Vinny." She and Scarlet laughed. Lucrecia smiled slightly.

Vincent could feel himself going red. He had just found out he had a metal arm, and now he was being made fun of by three women, one of which had cut off the hand that had been replaced with the claw.

"Alright, I'm out," Erika said, getting to her feet, "Come on, Scarlet, Dr. Hojo needs to see us." Vincent couldn't help noticing the sly, rather scornful look she shot Lucrecia as she said this.

"Stupid bitch," Lucrecia muttered ruefully, as soon as the door closed.

Vincent could have hugged her. Finally! Someone who agreed with him. He sat down on the table that had been occupied by neither Erika nor Scarlet. The Turk clothing was definitely difficult to move in. Lucrecia picked up a small flashlight.

"Open your mouth," she ordered. Vincent obeyed, and she proceeded to examine his tonsils, nose, ears, and finally eyes. "They'll look like that for awhile," she commented as she put the flashlight back down with the rest of the medical supplies.

"What'll look like what?"

Lucrecia swiveled a mirror on the counter so it was facing him. Vincent barely recognized the him staring back out of the glass. His hair was shorter and less matted, his skin was whiter, and his eyes were completely different. His eyes were black, they had been that way since birth, but somehow they had turned so blue that they reflected off the mirror like two tiny pricks pf light.

"What the hell?" he breathed.

"It's the Mako," Lucrecia explained, picking up a stethoscope and checking his heartbeat, "It does that you to your eyes. Actually, it alters your entire body, but the only visible change is in the pupil. You're fine," she concluded, putting the stethoscope around her neck, "You can go."

"Go where?" Vincent asked. He hopped off the table.

"I'm sure Dr. Hojo would like to speak to you again," she answered without turning around.

Oh joy.

"You can get there on your own can't you?"

"I guess so," Vincent said grudgingly. He didn't want to. There was no way he wanted to be alone in a Shinra building. He might run into something unpleasant.

As it were, something highly unpleasant was waiting for him as soon as he stepped out of the Lab. Erika was leaning against the wall of the corridor.

"Welcome to the gang, Vinny," she said.

"What do you want?" Vincent demanded, turning down the hall back to Hojo's office, though he tried to expose his back to the Turk leader as little as possible.

"I'm welcoming you to Shinra on behalf of everyone else who doesn't want to bother."

Vincent laughed coldly, annoyed that Erika had fallen into step behind him. "Funny, I don't feel welcome, I feel like a god damn lab rat. That's what I am, according to Dr. Hojo."

"Wrong again, Vinny," Erika said, wagging a figure as though at a naughty child, "My God, you're not that bright. You're being offered a position. Why do you think they brought you in?"

"I don't want a position!" Vincent yelled, "I want you out of my life!" He glanced up the corridor. There was no one there. He could kill her right here, and no one would see. Slowly, he began to raise his arm…

"Don't even try it," Erika hissed in his ear, "Even with that shiny knew claw of yours, there's no way you could ever beat me. I could have you down in a second." She clapped him on the back. "But cheer up, Vinny! You're going places! Now that your little bandit slut is dead, that is."

Vincent froze. He hated the woman behind him with every particle of his body.

"You really are better of, you know," she was whispering, "I did you a favor, by bleeding her dry, dumping her body for the sharks…"

Vincent was shaking with anger. He wanted her to die. He wanted to kill her with his own two hands, or one hand and one claw.

Erika smiled at the expression of rage on his face. "You've gotta move on in life." Her tone suddenly changed, it became low and sickly sweet. "If you ever need someone to help you do that, or you're just feeling…" she ran her fingers through his hair, her nails scratching his scalp, making him shiver involuntarily, "_Lonely_, I'd be more than willing to help." She turned on her heel; Vincent watched until she had walked back up the hall and turned a corner.

Had she just come on to him? It was ridiculous. She had threatened him and dragged up the memory of Kai, and then she had _come on to him?_ The very thought of it made Vincent feel sick. His skin seemed to be burning from where she had touched his head.

Reaching the office, Vincent threw the door open. Hojo was once again at his desk. He raised an eyebrow as he entered. "May I help you?"

Vincent was breathing heavily. It took him a moment before he could choke out, "You said something about settling a grudge."

Hojo smiled and indicated the chair across from him. "Have a seat. Let's talk."


	12. Transformations and Temptations

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the FF7 characters…yeah…or your mom…Square Enix owns both of them…

Author's Note: Okay, I am writing this chapter as my family is driving down to North Carolina. It is a four hour trip, so I hope to get a lot of it done. Cool. Okay. Here we go.

Be prepared, this chapter is interesting…

Chapter 12

Transformations and Temptations

Lucrecia was sitting alone in her private room, holding a mug of coffee and attempting to relax. It was a rather small living area, with only the barest of necessity: a wooden table with one chair, a rather moldy-looking couch, and what could pass as a kitchenette in the corner. A door on the back wall led to her bedroom, which was no more well appointed than the living room.

She had lived here for the past four years. In all that time she had never had anything to think about besides Shinra's current projects, and the best ways to avoid Dr. Hojo, but now she was sitting there, worrying. It was completely illogical; he was going through a completely normal procedure, but still she couldn't help herself. Shinra had been known to use the basic Materia procedure as a way to perform other experiments on a body. Hojo had told the boy he was being used as an agent and not as a test subject, but there was no way of knowing if that was true.

Vincent could come out of the surgery completely different than he had been going in. And, having spoken with him a couple times, it would be a shame. A nicer guy you couldn't hope to meet.

And even worse, Lucrecia wasn't sure if something hadn't already been done to him. When he had been brought in, they had given him an arm; a serious procedure it was true, but not one that necessitated a month of stasis. What had been happening to his body while he had been in that tank? She shuddered. She liked to avoid thinking about that room, it was too painful.

Fortunately, her thoughts were interrupted by a pounding on the door. She set her mug on the table and rose to her feet. Dialing the keypad that unlocked the door, she opened it. She gasped in horror at what she saw.

A silver-haired boy of about eighteen stood before her. He was breathing heavily and bleeding out of a thin gash across his forehead. Before she could say anything, he pushed into the room and slammed the door behind them.

"Miss Lucrecia!" he gasped, "You have to help me!"

Lucrecia couldn't bring herself to answer. His body had aged almost two years since she had last seen him, and his eyes were even brighter. He looked sick, and with the amount of Mako that had been pumped into him, he should barely have been able to move, but Sephiroth had always gone beyond Shinra's wildest dreams. His body took unbelievably well to all the experiments. But his mind never had.

"Did you escape again?" she asked him.

"Yes," he nodded, "I killed two guards and ran."

Lucrecia squeezed her eyes shut. "Sephiroth, no…"

Seph hung his head in shame. "I'm sorry," he muttered, "But I had to…You don't know what they're doing to me." There was a wild, almost animal-like look on his face. "There's things I think about doing, bad things. I want to kill people, Miss Lucrecia, and it's there fault, they're doing this to me! Don't you understand?" He grabbed her wrist. His grip was stronger than anything Lucrecia had ever felt before, and she yelled.

The door banged open. Standing on the threshold was Dr. Hojo, along with three Soldier guards, all armed with stun rods. Two of them grabbed Seph around the arms. He struggled and managed to throw one to the ground, but the other touched the tip of the rod to his shoulder, and he collapsed, hit by volts of raw electricity. The other Soldier joined the first two in dragging Seph from the room.

Lucrecia put a hand over her mouth, holding back a sob. She sank onto her only chair. This was why she hated living here. But what other choice did she have? She knew everything about Shinra's projects, so she could never leave, once a Shinra employee, always a Shinra employee. Her only other option was death, and that wasn't one she wanted to consider.

Hojo was still watching her from the threshold. His gaze just made her feel worse. She turned away from him, but then she felt his hand on the back of her head. She flinched, but he didn't remove it.

"I know this is difficult for you, my dear," he said, stroking her head, "But allowances must be made. It hurts me to see you like this."

Lucrecia snorted. "Yes, because you care about me so damn much."

"I do," Hojo answered, and for a moment, she almost believed him. But looking up, she saw those lightless, dead eyes and knew this man couldn't care about anything in the world.

Vincent shook his head groggily, back and forth. He had the strong impression that there were two lead weights on his eyelids, dragging them downwards. He wanted to get up, but he couldn't get his legs to move. This was the first time he had ever experienced the strange effects of anesthesia. He had gone into the surgery to have his body outfitted for Materia that morning, and he was just beginning to wake up. The procedure had been part of the deal he and Hojo had struck. Any agent of the Shinra corporation had to use Materia, Hojo had insisted.

"Why?" Vincent had asked. He didn't want anything to do with the stuff.

"Because," Hojo had answered, "Someone like you can't even hope to compete with some of the other candidates without Materia."

So, grudgingly, Vincent had agreed to the procedure. Every part of the idea of working for the Shinra made him physically sick, but he wouldn't rest until Erika was dead, and if becoming a Turk was the only way to achieve that, then so be it. Hojo had promised he would help.

Of course though, there had to be a catch. Vincent wasn't stupid, he could tell there was more to the deal than met the eye. The obvious terms were this: Vincent would undergo agent training and all the surgery required to become a Turk, while Hojo and his team took some scientific 'readings'. Vincent didn't know what that meant, and he wasn't sure he wanted to find out. In return, Hojo would turn a blind eye to the murdering of one of Shinra's employees by another.

It was a bloodthirsty and desperate deal, but Vincent didn't care. He just hoped there wasn't any fine print he had missed.

"I see you're recuperating," someone said.

Vincent struggled against the swirling darkness that still hovered on his consciousness and turned his head. The person who had spoken was probably the most unwelcome he could imagine. Whenever his thoughts turned to her, she always seemed to pop up.

"Erika, go the hell away."

She smirked. Somehow, she had managed to get into the lab. No one but the doctors involved in his operation were supposed to be admitted in there, Hojo had told him so. But thinking about it, Vincent was sure Erika would have no trouble gaining entry. He wished fervently that he was in a better condition. He wasn't exactly pleased to be lying defenseless on a table in a room alone with the leader of the Turks.

For many different reasons.

He flinched as she approached. He didn't exactly know what he expected her to do, but he knew none of it would be good. But she stopped before she had reached the table, and gave him a thoughtful look.

"I know why you're doing all of this, Vinny," she told him, her voice unusually serious, "It's 'cause you think you'll get a chance to avenge the bandit." Her eyes narrowed. "Well, think again. You have no chance, so take my advice. Get out while you still can. You stay, and you have no idea what they'll do to you."

Vincent rolled onto his other side, facing the wall. He didn't want to hear it. If she had come to psych him out, it wouldn't work. He was going to kill her, and that was that.

"Ooh, the strong and silent type," Erika said coolly.

"Fuck off."

She laughed unkindly. "Fine, whatever you want." Striding to the door, she paused, her hand on the knob. "You just wait, Vinny, things are gonna get pretty interesting around here."

It was a large, round room with white furniture and a white carpet. It didn't suit Shinra at all. Lucrecia hardly ever went into the employee's lounge. It was usually loud and crowded, and most of the people who hung out there were people she…disagreed with, to put it lightly. Today she did come in, taking a seat in a corner. After what had happened that morning, she didn't want to just sit in her room.

The lounge was mercifully empty that day, just two women sitting there, eating lunch. Dr. Hojo's secretary, Janet, and Scarlet, the newest addition to the Turks.

No sooner had Lucrecia settled down, pulling out the lab procedures she was currently writing up, when someone else entered the room. Janet glanced up from her lunch.

"Hey, Erika," she called, "How's it going?"

"Pretty good," Erika answered, flopping onto one of the couches. Scarlet immediately scooted over to give her more room.

Lucrecia cursed inwardly. The one day she decides to come to the lounge, Erika has to come prancing in. People like the two of them barely ever could relax and enjoy Shinra's facilities; they knew what was happening underneath it all. Lucrecia was willing to bet that Janet thought that the disease research facility was the only project the Shinra put there money into. So what was Erika doing here, sitting with people she barely knew? Lucrecia considered getting up and leaving, but if she did, she knew Erika would see her and start taunting her about Hojo. Here, hidden as he was behind the back of the couch, she was safe.

"Ma'am, you look pleased about something," Scarlet commented.

Erika looked around. She did have a rather disgusting, self-satisfied smile on her face. "Yeah, I probably do, Scar," she answered.

"Why?" Janet asked, "I've heard that all you've been doing lately is harassing one of the new recruits."

Lucrecia looked up. Were they talking about who she thought they were talking about?

Erika shrugged. "That kid kind of pisses me off," she mused, "You know he followed me across two continents to get revenge for me killing his father?"

Janet raised an eyebrow. "What'd you do?"

Erika leaned back, her hands behind her head. "I killed his girlfriend and cut off his arm. Hojo wanted him, or I would have killed him."

Janet chuckled, looking impressed. Maybe Lucrecia was wrong, maybe Janet was one of the people on the inside, or maybe she was an outsider who didn't give a damn how many innocent people the Shinra killed.

Scarlet's expression was hard to read, but Lucrecia didn't think she looked too pleased with where the conversation was going. She was watching Erika with both respect and dislike.

"I'm glad you didn't kill the kid," Janet said, crinkling up a paper bag and lobbing it into the trash bin, "He's definitely easy on the eyes."

Erika moved her eyebrows in a way that suggested she agreed. Lucrecia didn't join in the conversation, but she had to admit she knew what they meant. Vincent may have been young, but he was attractive in a way.

"Yeah," Erika laughed, "He's definitely sexy, in a naïve, I'm a little mommy's boy kind of way." The other women laughed

Lucrecia felt a bubble of anger. They had a lot of nerve; them making fun of Vincent, with no one there to defend him. Of course, she could defend him, but there's no way she would have enough courage to do that, and she knew it. So she stayed silent.

'I'm definitely thinking that kid needs some fun," Erika went on.

"And are you the one who's gonna give it to him?"

Erika winked. "I wouldn't say I'd mind."

"Forget it," Janet said, crossing her legs and leaning back no the couch, her died blond hair looking exceedingly fake in the fluorescent lights, "Do you think he'd actually go for that? After you-what was it-? 'Killed his dad, killed his girlfriend, and cut off his arm?"

Erika shrugged. "Hey, it's stupid to hold grudges. Besides, I'm the best he's gonna find around here."

Lucrecia grimaced. That woman was so full of herself! Yeah, she was gorgeous, but did that mean she expected all the guys she met to want her? Lucrecia didn't know Vincent very well, but she was sure he would have more pride than to sleep with the person who had apparently killed his father. No matter how lonely he got.

At one point, it would be interesting to hear his story. She wouldn't ask him now, with the wounds probably so fresh, but eventually…she would like to know what hid behind those sad, gentle eyes of his.

In the meantime though, she would just sit here and listen to Erika run her mouth.

"You don't think I could get him if I wanted him?" she was demanding of Janet.

"Yeah, I don't think you could," the secretary answered, crossing her arms,

"You're good, but you're not that good."

"Screw that," Erika said, injured pride in her tone, "I'd bet you any money I could."

Scarlet eyes were flicking back and forth from Erika to Janet, as though she was watching a tennis match. She seemed faintly disgusted.

Lucrecia didn't blame her.

After a few more minutes of this, she had had enough. She had remained just long enough to watch Janet and Erika to agree on a 500 Gil bet that the leader of the Turks could "get" Vincent by the end of the month. Lucrecia couldn't help thinking that she was going to lose her money. There was no way Vincent was going to let that happen.

She let herself out of the lounge, ignoring Erika's cry of, "Hey, Luc! Didn't see you there. How's Hojo felt recently?" That was enough excitement for one day. She started off in the direction of her room, when she met someone in the corridor, which was rare this time of day.

_Well, speak of the devil, _she thought.

It was Vincent. He must have just gotten up from his surgery; he looked a little unsteady, Lucrecia was surprised the doctors had let him walk back to his room on his own. His eyes were tired, and his shirt was on backward, as though he had been half asleep when he dressed.

"Hey, Lucrecia," he said, smiling slightly.

"Hey," she answered. The very thought of this boy doing anything with Erika, the ruthless bitch, was simply ludicrous. He seemed like such a nice guy; he definitely didn't belong with the Shinra.

"How did your procedure go?" she asked.

"Alright," Vincent said, a little gruffly, scratching at the back of his neck. Materia was connected directly with the vertebrae, and therefore the surgery left a mark on the upper back. "Dr. Hojo says I can begin equipping different types in a month."

"That's great," Lucrecia smiled, though he didn't look to pleased with it himself.

"So, how was your day?" he asked.

Lucrecia shrugged. "Alright, I guess. We're working on some sort of camouflage technology in the lab. It's this thing that gives you a complete glamour of another person, and it just looks like a gold necklace."

"Cool," Vincent said, "Well, I guess, I better…" He pointed down the hall.

"Hey, hold on. Do you want to eat dinner with me tonight?"

Vincent looked confused for a moment, but then he broke into a grin. "Sure, anything's better than that crap they've been bringing me for the past few days."

So, for the next two weeks, (or maybe it was longer, all the days seemed to blend together at the Shinra labs) Vincent's life fell into a sort of schedule. Wake up, go to one of the labs to where a doctor would check to make sure he was recovering from his surgery correctly. Then he would either wander the halls of the labs, getting yelled at occasionally, or work out in what passed for a gym in the recreation part of the facility. Vincent had never worked on his physical condition before; he had always had strenuous work to do at home. Lifting weights and doing pull ups felt strange for awhile, but eventually he got used to it. And besides, Hojo had assured him that it would make his agent training all the more easy.

Then, every night he would have dinner with Lucrecia. It was never anything special, and true he had had to drag a chair from his room through the corridors so he would have somewhere to sit, but he found it enjoyable nonetheless. They quickly found they had a lot to talk about.

Shinra; the declining condition of the Planet; Costa del Sol; other continents neither of them had ever been to but had always wanted to go. At the end of the first week, he told her his story. She had been a good audience; at the end she hadn't offered sympathy, just sat in silence. Then in return, she had told him her own life story, though he was sure some of it had been invented. He could believe that she had grown up in the freezing north with six brothers and sisters, but the idea that her parents were retired pirates was a little more out there. He didn't mind, though, it was amusing.

There were even points along the two weeks when he actually forgot that he was in a Shinra facility. They only lasted for a moment, though.

The main source of annoyance in his life became Erika. No matter how hard he tried to avoid her, she always seemed to pop up. She usually wouldn't say anything, but when she did it was always something like, "lookin' good, Vinny," or "Hey, babe." It just wasn't something he was used to, and it got on his nerves. Kai had talked like this a bit, but he hadn't minded when it came from her.

And on top of everything, there was the ever persisting nagging of the little voice in his head that was constantly chanting, _Kill Erika, kill Erika. _

But all in all, things were pretty dull at the Shinra labs, until about a month after had come to, or rather, forced to, live there.

Vincent was sitting alone in his room. It was around dinner time, and normally he would be eating with Lucrecia, but tonight she apparently had to dine with Hojo. As much as Vincent wanted to know if there was anything going on between them, she had offered no explanation, so he hadn't pressed the matter.

He was just wondering what he was going to do with himself that night, when there came a knock at the door. Before he could even go answer it, the visitor let themself in. Vincent blinked.

It was Lucrecia.

"I thought you were eating dinner with Hojo…" Vincent said confusedly, standing up from where he had been sitting on his bed.

Lucrecia didn't answer, just closed the door behind her. There was something abnormal about her manner, though Vincent couldn't really place it. He was probably just being stupid, this was without a doubt the same woman he had been spending time with over the last few weeks.

"Hey," she said. She crossed the room and slid into the single other piece of furniture in the room, an old-looking, overstuffed chair with the stuffing beginning to escape the lining.

"Hey…" Vincent answered slowly. She definitely was acting a little weird. Her eyes were narrowed slightly; she seemed to be studying his face. She pulled off her lab coat without standing up and tossed it onto the floor. Underneath it was a short blue skirt and white blouse. The clothes of a professional woman.

"It's kind of hot in here," she commented.

"Yeah…" Vincent agreed, though he was actually a bit chilly, "Listen, why are you..?"

Suddenly, without warning, Lucrecia had stood up again and kissed him.

Vincent's legs almost gave out in shock. Whatever reason he had thought Lucrecia had for being there, this definitely wasn't it. It had been such an abrupt move, that for a moment he was too stunned to react. But Lucrecia's lips were warm and she smelled slightly of vanilla, and suddenly he realized he had wrapped his arms around her and was pulling her close. He would have been contented to just stay like this, but it seemed Lucrecia had other plans.

She broke away from him, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. He was half expecting her to apologize and stammer that she didn't know what had come over her. Instead, she shoved him roughly. He tripped over backwards, landing sprawled on his bed. He didn't even have time to catch his breath, before Lucrecia had swooped down and kissed him again. She had always struck him as a gentle person, but her kisses were rough and hungry.

"Lucrecia," he managed to gasp out, "What are you..?"

"Don't worry," she crooned, moving her lips to his neck, "Just let me..."

Every nerve in Vincent's body was on fire. His muscles had all tensed up and the thoughts going through his head were both frightening and incredible. What was going to happen next? Lucrecia's fingers were wrapped around his jacket's zipper. He shivered as she pulled it down, her cool fingers caressing his pale skin. This was definitely a far cry from kissing someone on the beach.

He never would have had enough courage to make the first move himself, but now that Lucrecia had, he was suddenly able to admit to himself how much he wanted this. He could feel his muscles slowly beginning to lose their tenseness under her hands. He lay back. Lucrecia smiled.

"That's right, Vinny, just relax," she murmured, burying her fingers into his shaggy hair, "Relax..."

_Vinny?_

Vincent froze. The tenseness had come back. He looked into Lucrecia's face. She was wearing an expression of brutal triumph. It didn't fit her, but it was horribly familiar. It was only then that he noticed the necklace she was wearing. It was a single gold chain.

He sat up. His fist closed over the necklace. He gave it wrench; it wasn't hard to break. Lucrecia looked down at her neck, at the chain in his hand, and back again. Her body rippled, as though it were on a badly adjusted screen. A moment later she was gone.

Instead, Erika was sitting on top of him.

Vincent's stomach began to boil. "You!"

Erika remained motionless for a moment, but then she split into a grin. "Like either of us cares," she sneered, leaning over and running her tongue over the hollow of his throat. For a second, Vincent didn't move. He was forced to admit; it still felt amazing. She seemed to take this as motivation, because she began unbuttoning her blouse. That made sense take over again.

With a harsh cry he threw her off of him, kicking her stomach with enough force to send her flying across the room. She crashed into the wall and slumped to the ground, but she wasn't down long. In less than a moment she was back on her feet. Erika wasn't the leader of the Turks for nothing.

"Very perceptive of you, Vinny," she said, her voice tinged with laughter, "You might be uptight, but you taste good."

"Shut up," Vincent spat, "And get the hell out."

Erika didn't pay any attention, just set about straightening her hair. She looked strange in the skirt and blouse (half the buttons hanging open) so used was he to seeing her in leather.

"I have to admit," she went on, "I didn't think it would work that well. I didn't count on the fact that you want Lucrecia so bad. It's a pity you had to realize I wasn't her. It could've been hot." She took a step towards him. "It still can be."

"Get out!" He yelled it this time. Erika laughed, and then she left.

Vincent closed and locked the door behind her, zipping his shirt back up. He collapsed on his bed. He couldn't believe what Erika had just tried to pull. Sure, she had come onto him a couple of times, but he always had thought she was just doing it to bother him. He had never thought she would have gone to all the trouble of stealing one of those chains just to trick him into sleeping with her.

What disgusted him more than anything else was this: he hadn't hated it.

_You didn't have to toss her out, _a voice in his head whispered, _You could have just..._

"No," Vincent said aloud, as though trying to convince himself, "She fucking killed Kai. Just thinking about her makes me want to throw up"

_Yeah, _said the voice in his head, _But you do want Lucrecia. She could just have put the chain back on…_

He stopped himself before he could consider the possibility. It was more than he wanted to think about at the moment. He sat back on his bed in that dark windowless room, feeling suddenly very alone.


	13. Staying Alive

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the final fantasy characters. If I did, I would tie them up and…wait, did I say that…? I, uh, meant that I would, uh…never mind.

Author's Note: Wow, people, I am really sorry about the massive delay. First it was the sudden onset of school and AP homework, and then my computer was completely raped by a virus.

Chapter 13

Staying Alive

_Dear Mr. President; _

_I am pleased in inform you that subject 362 is performing exactly as we have predicted. I personally preformed the Materia procedure, and connected the Enhancer to his spinal cord. With your permission, I would like to take the experiment to its next stage as soon as possible. _

_As for subject #134, he has reached the critical stage. We will begin procedures immediately, and he will be ready for your inspection in two month's time. I know this is several weeks later than we initially agreed upon, but his behavior pattern has become erratic, and we wish to ensure your safety on your visit. _

_I look forward to seeing you in the near future. _

_With all due respect, _

_Dr. M. Hojo_

Vincent unlocked his door with a swipe of the magnetized card. Slamming it shut behind him, he collapsed into his bed, almost falling asleep the moment his body touched the mattress. But he had to force himself to keep his eyes open. He had sworn to himself this morning that he would eat dinner with Lucrecia that night.

For the past week and a half, he had avoided her at all costs. It felt like he had used and exhausted every excuse known to mankind. He was sick, he was tired, he wasn't hungry, he had to have a check-up. He was sure Lucrecia had stopped believing him days ago. It was stupid, he had to admit, but he didn't want to have to face her. He didn't know what he'd say. And the worst part of it was that it wasn't her fault.

It was Erika's. Vincent had spent a good part of those nights alone plotting how he would get back at her. Because of her idiotic prank, he now couldn't spend time with the only friend he had at the Shinra Labs without feeling awkward. She had screwed up his life in every aspect, and she didn't seem about to stop now.

About a week ago, his so called agent-training had begun. To Vincent it didn't seem much like training, more like insane physical tests. Scientists watched and recorded how fast he could run a mile, how quickly he could scale a brick wall. They wanted to see how far he could jump. So far, there hadn't seemed to be any training of any kind.

But what really pissed him off was who had been put in charge to oversee it. Erika. She stood there, smirking, watching him jump, run, and climb at the beck and call of the scientists. He had complained to Hojo about it, but he had just insisted that since Erika was the leader of the Turks, she had to be there to check out her new agent.

Lying on his bed, Vincent mumbled something not even he could understand and rolled onto his back. The silence of the facility was pressing in on his eardrums. In the month (or months, he could never tell how long) he had spent here, he hadn't grown accustomed to the oppressive atmosphere. It was like the entire building was some giant monster, trying to smother him in its cold embrace, trying to squeeze the very life out of him. It was not a pleasant atmosphere in which to live.

"What time is it?" he asked the darkness, suddenly realizing he was too tired to sit up and look at the clock. A moment later, he realized he was too tired to do anything. Blackness was creeping up on the edges of his vision, dragging him down into the dark depths of sleep. But this didn't feel like sleep.

This-_this_-was artificial.

Vincent slipped into a foggy, dazed state halfway between wakefulness and oblivion. It was like he was watching himself from somewhere else. He was aware of the two scientists who came into his room and heaved him onto a gurney, but he was powerless to fight them. He watched through slitted eyes as he was wheeled down the white metal hallways into a part of the facility he had never been before.

He must have zoned out at that point, for the next thing he saw was a pair of glasses glinting in the bright Mako lights. The glasses were perched on the nose of a familiar face. Dr. Hojo was leaning over Vincent, a small smile curling his lips up.

"That's it, Mr. Valentine," he purred, "Just stay calm. We need you awake for this stage. The _final _stage, I might add."

Vincent moved his lips, trying to respond, but nothing came out. His body felt like it had been turned into rubber. Everything was unreal and, even as one of the scientists took a scalpel and began to make an incision in his chest, he still couldn't help feeling that this was nothing but a dream. He could feel the knife slicing him apart, and he knew it should be excruciating, but his brain didn't register the pain.

The doctor set down the scalpel. Then he slid his gloved hand into Vincent's chest. It was the most peculiar sensation, having someone reach into your body and pull something out. At first, he thought that man had pulled out his heart, but then he saw that what he had in his hand was much smaller than a heart, and glowing with a very faint blue light.

"Just as I suspected," he heard Hojo mutter, "It's almost completely taken root. Replace it."

Vincent could only watch, repulsed, as the doctor traded the blue gem (for that is what it looked like) for a much larger specimen, this one bright green. There was a loud squelching sound as the man thrust it into his chest.

Vincent fainted after that.

When he awoke in his bed, he could move again, which he did, immediately sitting up and examining his chest. There was a faint scar running the length of his heart to his navel. It looked months old, as though the operation had been done a long time ago, but it did rule out the whole thing having been a dream. He collapsed back onto his pillow. It was then that he became aware of someone else in the room with him.

"Don't move too much," said a familiar voice.

Vincent turned his head and nearly cried out in shock. Sitting on a chair beside his bed was a red-headed girl with fiery eyes.

"Kai!" he yelled, sitting up.

A worry line appeared between Kai's eyes. "Who?" she asked.

Vincent froze. Slowly, he rubbed his face with his hands. When he looked back, Kai was gone, replaced by Lucrecia.

"Hi," he muttered, falling back into bed.

Lucrecia put a hand on his forehead. "You poor thing. They've given you way too much of that drug."

"What drug?"

"It's an engineered substance that mixes with the bloodstream," Lucrecia explained, sadness in her eyes, "It calms the subject down, but it does more than that. You've probably felt strange for the past month, haven't you?"

Vincent nodded. Strange was an understatement.

"Well, it's because of the drug. Your friend Kai died, killed by Erika, but you've had contact with Erika here at the lab. The Shinra destroyed your home, but you've stayed here, going along with everything. You haven't caused any trouble."

"What are you getting at?" Vincent asked. Lucrecia was saying some weird things. Sure, all those things had happened, but there wasn't anything he could do about it. That was why he had been a good little boy for the past month…Even as his brain offered these explanations, something buried deeper disagreed. For a moment, it felt like his mind was being pulled in two directions, but then it passed.

"You'll understand in a minute," Lucrecia told him decidedly. She pulled something out of her lab coat, a syringe and a vial filled with a clear liquid. She filled the syringe and turned to him. Vincent instinctively shied away, but Lucrecia caught his wrist. "Stay still," she ordered, her eyes boring into his.

Vincent felt the bite of the needle as she slid it underneath his skin. For a moment, nothing happened.

And then something did.

Vincent couldn't find any way to describe it. The dams had burst in his brain, and thoughts he should have been having for the past month came swirling in. Kai was dead. He was being experimented on in a Shinra lab. He needed to find some way to escape!

He tried to rise, but Lucrecia pushed him back down resolutely.

"You have to stay still and think for awhile," she said, "All the thoughts Dr. Hojo didn't want you to have need to be processed. Did you ever wonder why you haven't cried for your friend, why you haven't killed everyone in this facility? It's because of the drug. It works better than any cage could."

Vincent nodded. And for the next half an hour, he did what he had been told. He thought.

It was incredible. He should have escaped a long time ago, or he should have at least asked some questions. He tried to think back to the last time when he had actually been bothered by thoughts of Kai and revenge. Well, all the time, actually. But he had never acted on them. He had been only part of himself, the rest of his mind locked away. The drug had tied his hands. He had drifted through a haze for the last month. And now he was awake.

He looked over at Lucrecia. She hadn't moved since she had explained what was going on. She was now simply looking at him, unabashedly. Not for the first time, she reminded Vincent of someone, though he couldn't place who. But the real question was, why was she helping him?

"Why did you give me an antidote?" he asked suddenly, "Don't you work for the Shinra too?"

"I do," Lucrecia agreed, a look of disgust rising on her face, "But not by choice. I couldn't let you keep being lied to."

Vincent looked at her sharply. "There never was any agent training, was there?"

Lucrecia shook her head. "No. Those were just physical tests to check your progress."

"My progress?"

Lucrecia sighed. "Well, I might as well tell you." She looked like she really didn't want to. "You are an experiment. Subject #362. Hojo is has been exposing your body to high levels of Mako Energy, in hopes to create…"

"To create what?" Vincent prodded, his eyes wide, "Tell me!"

Lucrecia didn't answer right away. She seemed to be considering if she'd gone too far.

"Please, Lucrecia," he begged, trying to look as helpless as possible, "Tell me." He grabbed her hand. She pulled it away, but she went on.

"Hojo is aiming to create…the ultimate life form. An 'Angel' he calls it."

Vincent's lips formed the words. Ultimate life form. It sounded impossible, science fiction. No one could create Angels.

"Are you serious?" he breathed, "Is it actually working?"

Lucrecia nodded gravelly. "Yeah, it seems to be."

"I-I'm subject 362? Does that mean 361 of them have failed?"

"No." Lucrecia hung her head. "360 have failed. There's one more. He's even farther along than you are."

"Who?" Vincent demanded.

Lucrecia opened her mouth to answer, but she was cut off by a sudden crackle of static. A voice had begun to issue from the intercom beside Vincent's door.

"That's quite enough, Lucrecia my dear." Hojo's words dripped poison. "Now, if you would be so kind as to escort our dear Mr. Valentine to my office?"

Vincent and Lucrecia shared a look.

"How did he..?" Vincent began.

Lucrecia stood up. "He always does."

Vincent knew they really had no choice but to go. Hojo reigned supreme over the facility; his word was law. But this time, Vincent's mind was clear. There was no drug in his system designed to talk him out of his revenge. And he would have it. Lucrecia didn't look anywhere near as confident as he felt. Her shoulders were hunched and her head was down. She seemed to be trying to make herself as small as possible.

When they reached Hojo's office, they both paused. Neither of them wanted to go in. But they had to. Vincent put out a hand and turned the knob. What he saw made him freeze on the doorstep. Hojo was seated behind his desk. In his hand was an electric- blue sphere of rolling energy. It crackled, filling the air around it with static, and causing Hojo's hair to stand ridiculously on end.

Vincent's eyes had only just taken all of this in, when Hojo lobbed it at him. It hit him full in the chest. The electricity covered his body, dropping him to the floor in an instant. Lucrecia screamed.

"Calm down," Hojo said, not moving from where he lounged behind his desk, "He's not dead, just stunned. Now, if you would be so kind as to drag him in here with you, we can have a little discussion."

Lucrecia didn't like the sound of that, but she did as she was bid, dragging Vincent after her by the armpits, trying to be as gentle as possible.

"Shut the door behind you."

Vincent's head was pounding violently. He tried to move, but he found himself bound tightly. He tried to yell, but his throat seemed to have stopped working. Suddenly, he realized his eyes were closed.

He opened them.

The last thing he remembered seeing was Hojo, throwing a ball of energy his way. It must have knocked him out, because he was now inside one of the training rings. One wall was designed for climbing, and a number of ropes hung from the ceiling. In the very center of the room was a wooden post, like a tether ball pole without the ball. It was this that he had been tied to.

It was the second time that day he had blacked out and then been tied up somewhere. But the thing that was really making his blood boil were the spectators. High up on the northern wall was a clear glass window, with a perfect view of the ring. Standing in it was Dr. Hojo, and lurking a little behind him was Lucrecia.

Vincent struggled against the ropes binding him to the post, but it was no use. Whoever had tied him up knew their stuff.

"There is no point in doing that, Mr. Valentine." Hojo's voice had rung out across the ring. Vincent could hear him just as well as if he had been standing right next to him and not behind a sheet of reinforced, bullet-proof glass.

"Let me go!" he snarled, letting himself hang limply in the ropes once again, "I know everything about what you're doing to me! You're turning me into some cyberly enhanced freak!"

"Oh, I wouldn't use those terms," Hojo said idelly, leaning against the glance, "I believe 'Genetically Altered' would be more appropriate to describe the transformations taking place inside your body."

"I don't care what you call it!" Vincent began to thrash against his bonds again. "I know you're so fucking insane you experiment on human beings. You're doing it me and…" Vincent trailed off, suddenly realizing something that had been eluding him for quite some time. "And you're doing it to Seph! That's why he tried to escape!"

A moment later, Vincent wished her hadn't said anything. A look of such intense pain filled Lucrecia's eyes, who until now had been hovering at Hojo's shoulder.

"No, you're…you're not like Sephiroth, Vincent," she stammered, "But you are…uh, special."

Vincent very much wanted to snort and roll his eyes, but Lucrecia's expression stopped him. He didn't want to make her look any more unhappy than she already did.

And besides, he had just been distracted by Hojo's next words.

"I am going to prove something to you, Mr. Valentine," he was saying, "You will witness the intense improvements these modifications have had on your physical being."

As he said this, a door opposite Vincent's post opened. Erika strode in. Her usual haughty manner dropped almost instantly when she saw him.

"What is this?" she demanded, "They told me Hojo wanted to see me!"

"I did, Erika."

Erika spun around. Hojo was smiling at her from behind the glass. It was a smile that could make the blood run cold.

"Yes, I did want to see you," Hojo went on, absently examining his fingernails as though this conversation was the least important thing on his agenda, "I want you to participate in a small experiment. It won't take up much of your valuable time."

Vincent could tell Erika had noticed the amused sarcasm in his voice. "What do you mean?" she asked, her tone wary.

Hojo, however, had slid his gaze form her to Vincent. "I'm sure you know Erika quite well by now, am I right?"

Vincent didn't even dignify this with a response.

"Yes," Hojo was nodding. "She destroyed your town, killed everyone you care about, and played an extremely tasteless and, forgive me, _amusing, _practical joke on you."

Vincent made a disgusted sound in his throat. He would hardly call what Erika had tried to pull to get in his pants a 'practical joke'. And how had Hojo found out? Did that mean Lucrecia knew as well? Heart in his throat, Vincent looked up at her. Her face was unreadable. If she did know, she was giving nothing away.

"Aren't you angry with Erika, Vincent?" Hojo was saying, "You came all this way to kill her, and you've had to see her face for the last month, powerless to do anything."

Now that Hojo mentioned it, Vincent was angry. His blood had begun to boil the moment Erika had walked through the door. Now suddenly it felt like the boiling

sensation was spreading through every other part of his body. His skin was hot, his bones ached, and there was an odd throbbing in his head. A funny mist had descended over his vision, and the only thing in that field of vision was Erika.

He wanted to see her dead, feel her blood on his hands. As this ran through his mind, the rolling in his stomach increased. His skin was bubbling, his head was going to explode…

Suddenly, everything stopped. His vision had clouded, but now it was quickly returning to normal, better than normal, even. He could see with a keenness he had never known before; the whole world was covered with new color. Smells he couldn't recognize were bombarding him, making it hard to breathe. And above it all, he could hear Hojo's voice.

"Erika is right there. Don't you want to make her suffer?"

Yes! Vincent wanted to yell it out loud, but all that escaped from his throat was a harsh growl. He struggled against the ropes binding him to the post and, to his surprise, they gave way as though they were made of paper.

Erika was still standing by the door, but Vincent had a hard time recognizing her for a second. The Erika he knew and hated would have been standing there, a cocky sneer on her face, not backed against the wall with fear in her eyes, like this one was. He took a step toward her and she screamed.

Vincent didn't stop to consider this odd turn of events. He could smell Erika's blood, he could almost _taste _it. Rotating his shoulder to work out the kinks being tied to a post can create, he began to stride toward her. His body felt strangely heavy, but other than that he felt brilliant. He felt like he could have run up a wall if he was so inclined.

Before he could reach her, Erika had drawn her gun and fired off two rounds.

Instinct took over then. Vincent felt himself spring to one side, the bullet rustling his hair. It had missed him by a quarter of an inch. Erika screamed again and began to empty her gun in his direction. It had absolutely no effect, as Vincent found some way to avoid every single one of them. He didn't know how he was doing it.

Reaching her, he swung an arm. It smashed into the side of Erika's face, sending her sprawling to the ground at his feet. Holding up the hand he had used to hit her, Vincent gasped. There was something wrong with it. The skin had turned black and the nails had become claws. His other arm was still a giant metal glove, but it was now attached to an elbow that most certainly wasn't his.

Erika moaned. She had risen to her feet, and she seemed to be putting forth every effort not to topple over again. Her eyes were out of focus and an angry red mark covered her left cheek. For a moment, she simply stared at him. Then, she turned and scampered unceremoniously back to the door. She opened the lock with her employee's card and ran through.

Vincent stared after her. Erika, run away from a fight? He wouldn't have thought it possible of her. She was a killer, and killers weren't afraid of anything. Were they? He looked up to Hojo, hoping for an explanation, but the head scientist was gone. The only person visible through the window was Lucrecia. She looked horrorstruck, as though she had just seen a ghost. She was yelling something at him, but he wasn't listening. He had already followed Erika through the door.

Vincent could see her; she had just whipped around the corner. He broke into a run, pursuing her along the long white corridor. It only took him a minute, however, to realize that there was no need to hurry. This strangely heightened new sense of smell was coming in handy. There wasn't anywhere in the building she could go where he couldn't find her.

He followed her scent down another hall, and then into a lab. It was large and brightly lit, and completely empty of people. It was a pity, Vincent would have liked to kill Erika in front of a few witnesses. She was now huddled between two large metal cabinets, as far from him as possible.

Vincent grinned. She wasn't even going to fight back? This was looking to be quite an easy feat. He paced toward her, a panther closing in on its prey. But before he could reach her, he was stopped short by the sight before him. The lab had several work tables, each of them spotlessly clean, their silver surfaces reflecting as well as any mirror. As he passed one, he realized why Erika had screamed.

Staring at him from the tabletop was a demon. Its skin was black and leathery, its hair long and tangled. Great feathery wings reared from its back. And it had Vincent's eyes.

He raised his hands. The demon copied him. He shook his head back and forth. The demon did the same.

Vincent could feel a shriek growing inside him, but when it burst out it sounded nothing like his voice. An unearthly screech filled the lab, resounding of the walls until it sounded like ten monsters instead of one.

What had happened to him? He had been perfectly normal a few minutes ago…hadn't he? Hojo had hit him with some sort of energy bomb. That could have changed him somehow. Had he been like this the whole time he had been talking to the scientist in the training ring?

His thoughts were interrupted by a sudden pain in his shoulder. He turned, to find Erika standing there, brandishing a long knife. She hadn't been cowering in a corner, she had been waiting for him to approach. The look on her face was wild and desperate, as she drew her arm up and aimed the knife his way once again. Vincent caught the blade as it arched toward his head.

He could feel it biting into his palm, but he didn't let go. It didn't actually hurt that much, either that or he had come to perceive pain in a new way. He yanked the knife from Erika's grasp and backhanded her across the face. The force of the blow sent her smashing into one of the metal cabinets.

She lay there for a few moments, coughing. When she looked back up, Vincent could see the marks his talons had made in her pale, beautiful skin. She was rising unsteadily to her feet, but he didn't give her a chance to regain her balance. Something inside of him was telling him he had to kill. Now.

As he lunged forward, it occurred to him that he didn't know how to kill. That didn't seem to matter, however, a few seconds later. His new instincts seemed to take over once again.

Vincent forced Erika against him, pulling her into a crushing embrace. Her face was full of something he had never seen on it before. Blind fear. He could smell it; it was intoxicating. He could smell something else as well. Her blood. He could hear the vein in her neck pumping it through her body. It was something he wanted to feel, to taste.

He bit down into her neck.

Erika screamed and struggled, but it was like a raft trying to escape the grip of a river; fruitless. Her blood tasted like nothing else in the world, there was nothing he could compare it to. Sweet, like sugar, but tangy, like salt. It was hot, but at the same time it was refreshing. He could feel her life diminishing, even as she thrashed in his arms.

Suddenly, the thrashing stopped. The blood instantly turned sour, and Vincent spat out his last mouthful. He let Erika's corpse fall to the ground. It hit the tiles with a dull thud.

Vincent yelled. The bubbling sensation was back in his stomach, spreading down his legs and up his chest. It stopped a few seconds later, and he glanced down at the table. His reflection was his own again; a slender, ragged boy with pale skin. And a bloodstain around his mouth.

Lucrecia found him in the lab, standing beside the body. She practically had to carry him to his room, the whole time feeling the way he shook in her arms. He wasn't saying anything, but she could piece together what had happened.

The seed Hojo had planted inside his body had finally germinated, fed by his hate for Erika. The demon rage had taken over him then, and he had chased her down and killed her. Lucrecia shuddered. And it looked like he had drunk her blood, as well.

Vincent awoke in a cold sweat. He tried to sit up, but his muscles didn't seem to be working too well. It had been a rough night. He had shook with fever for hours, until finally he had fallen asleep.

He had thrown up the blood earlier that night, his human organs not able to handle it. The taste of it still polluted his mouth, regardless of the his efforts to wash it out.

A soft knock came on the door. Lucrecia entered before he could answer. She was carrying a clipboard, dressed in her usual lab coat.

"Gonna take a few notes?" Vincent asked gruffly, making his throat work as best as he could.

"Of course not," Lucrecia answered, tossing the clipboard aside and drawing a chair up to his bed, "I wanted to see how you're feeling."

"Dandy."

"That's what I expected," Lucrecia said, not meeting his eyes. She had something to do with all of this, Vincent knew it, but he was just too exhausted to care about anything right now. He wished he could just fall asleep again, block everything out. He had killed Erika finally, but he felt nothing. No triumph, no relief. Nothing.

"I was thinking you'd want something to eat," Lucrecia began, reaching into her bag.

"I don't think I'd be able to keep it down," Vincent answered quietly.

"It's just an energy drink. Here." She threw it at him. He didn't even have to think. His arm shot up and snatched the can out of the air. He might have changed back into his normal self, but he still had the reflexes of that beast.

"Please, Lucrecia," he said hoarsely, "Tell me what the hell they did to me."

He opened the can. It actually took a few attempts, as he was still shivering horribly. He didn't drink it though; he still felt nauseous.

"Next time you decide to drink your victim's blood, you shouldn't change back before you've digested it."

Vincent glanced up. He couldn't tell if Lucrecia was trying to make a joke, or if she was giving him a piece of serious advice.

"I'll keep that it mind," he answered.

Lucrecia smiled a bit. "I don't really know where to begin…"

"I do," Vincent told her earnestly, "Why is Hojo doing this?"

"It's called the 'Jenova Project'. It was licensed by the President of the Shinra. He wants Ultimate Beings."

"But why?" Vincent asked, pushing himself into a sitting position, "Doesn't he already rule the Planet?"

"Yes he does, but the only thing power does is make you want more. He's taken the power of the people, the power of Mako, the Planet's lifeblood, and now he wants the power of the Ancients."

"The Ancients?"

Lucrecia ran her fingers through her hair. It caught the light and shone like pewter. Where had Vincent seen that before?

"The Ancients were the creatures who first lived on the Planet. They possessed incredible power of every variety, and lent it to us humans whenever we needed it. But, as the story always goes, humans took too much. The Ancients left us, but not before someone had killed one of them. Well, not killed exactly, more like imprisoned in a stasis. That is who Jenova is, just an empty shell."

"Okay…" Vincent said, struggling to follow, "But what does that have to do with me?"

"The thing Dr. Hojo put inside you is a crystallized, concentrated form of Jenova's cells. In layman's terms, you are some kind of odd clone."

Vincent lay back down with a thump. He didn't want to hear this right now; he regretted ever asking Lucrecia anything. But there was just one other thing he needed to know…

"So what happens now?" he asked, his voice robbed of emotion.

Lucrecia's eyes lingered on his face. "Now…The president wants an 'Angel' heading all of Shinra's departments. The other…specimen…heads Soldier, and you…you're now the leader of the Turks."

"What?" Vincent demanded, "I'm _what?_"

"Erika's…uh…gone," Lucrecia continued, "And you are taking her place."

Vincent began to laugh, but stopped almost immediately. It hurt his throat too much. He settled for an extremely scornful smile. Lucrecia coughed into her hand. He could tell she was covering a snicker. The look on his face fell. Did he really look that goofy when he was scornful?

"That look doesn't suit you, Vincent," she said amusedly, "And don't worry about the Turks right now. We can deal with that later. You aren't in any shape to be concerned with anything besides resting." She made to get up, but Vincent held her back.

"Can you tell me one thing?" he asked.

"Sure."

"Am I a vampire?"

Lucrecia laughed outright at this. "What? Why do you ask that?"

"I drank Erika's blood!" he said earnestly, "Isn't that what…vampires are supposed to do?"

Lucrecia shrugged. "Yes, but you're not one of them. You're…" she had to stop to think for a moment. "You're like a combination of all things, good and evil. I believe the blood draining is just a side effect of the demonic rage."

"Great," Vincent mused in agitation, "Demonic rage. All I need."

Lucrecia turned, her hand on the panel that opened the sliding door. Her eyes were expressionless as she said, "But the anger helped you. You destroyed your worst enemy, didn't you?"

"Yeah," Vincent answered, shifting uncomfortably, "But I would have destroyed anyone who got in my way too."

Lucrecia smiled at him, though he could tell it was strained. She walked back to his bed, and bent down, kissing him lightly on the forehead.

"It's going to be alright, Vincent," she told him, and her voice was so full of certainty that for a moment, he almost believed her. He didn't want to think about his demon problems. What he did want was for her to kiss him again. But at that moment, her hair caught the light again, and Vincent realized who Lucrecia reminded him of.

He jerked back. "I'm tired," he muttered to the wall.

"Alright. Goodnight." He heard her leave, the door sliding shut behind her. He rolled back onto his back.

If he was right, and he was sure he was, things were about to get a lot more interesting than he had ever wanted them to be.


	14. Welcome To My Life

Disclaimer: Nay, I own not the characters of Square Enix. And I be too tired to come up with anything witty.

Author's Note: This chapter begins strangely, but just roll with it and it will all make sense in time.

I am also very sorry that this has taken so long to get up. I have been downright drowning in schoolwork, and it's a surprise I've had time to write at all.

Chapter 14

Welcome to My Life

Several hundred years ago.

She raised her hand, shielding her eyes from the glare as she swept her gaze over the gleaming city. This was to be her home, until the end of her days. Or at least until the theocracy betrayed her again. But that wouldn't happen, she had to remind herself. She was the theocracy now, the leader.

It was still a shock sometimes, waking up in the morning and realizing she was alive and happy. Ever since she had been a child, she had known of her impending untimely death. It had been something they taught her since she had begun her training. It had always just seemed inevitable, she would die, and the world would be saved. But then he had come…

She smiled to herself, remembering the time three years ago when she had realized her life didn't have to end. Spira could be saved without death, and it had taken a complete stranger to teach them that.

And look at her now, High Summoner Yuna, standing on the highest balcony of the most sacred temple in Bevelle, the holiest city in Spira. Of course, holy was no longer the proper word for it.

Spira had slowly begun to pick itself back up from the brink of disaster. The various organizations that had been vying for power after the downfall of Yevon, a group of religious tyrants who had held the land in their grip for a thousand years, had finally agreed to merge into one.

The organization was to be called Shinra.

It had been dubbed after its founder, a 12 year-old genius, and Yuna's cousin. He had recently discovered the excess of energy buried deep within the planet's core, just waiting to be harnessed and used to the world's advantage. Maybe, with work, it could even be converted to a form a usable power to fuel Spira's cities, like the cities of a thousand years ago, before the war.

That was the new Shinra corporation's goal, they would regulate the study of the power, and also lead Spira in politics. Yuna, the High Summoner and Spira's rightful leader, had already signed on to participate with them.

The future looked bright.

Yuna was just about to turn and enter the temple, when she stumbled, grabbing onto the balcony to steady herself. For a moment, she thought she was just being clumsy, then she realized the balcony was shaking. And not just the balcony, the entire city was seized in the grip of some unseen force. If it was an earthquake, it was more powerful than anything Spira had experienced before.

Suddenly, the air was filled with a deafening roar, like a tidal wave crashing onto the seashore. Yuna looked up just in time to see a massive mushroom-shaped black cloud rising up into the clear sky.

_Oh no! _she thought wildly, _the reactor!_

The rumbling had stopped. Picking herself up from the ground, she sprinted for the door, holding her robes up above her ankles. She cursed the damn things, wishing fervently for the days before she had accepted her role as High Summoner, when she had been able to wear anything she wanted.

The temple interior was almost unrecognizable. The damage was far worse than anything Yuna could have imagined. Artifacts and statues had toppled over, tapestries had been shaken off the wall, everything covered in a fine layer of rock dust shaken from the ceiling. Yuna thanked the fates that no one had been at worship at this hour. Hardly anyone ever was anymore.

"Yuna!"

A short, yellow haired girl had appeared at the door to the lower floors of the temple. She rushed over to Yuna, nimbly avoiding the rubble strewn about the marble floor.

"Rikku!" Yuna exclaimed, "What's going on?"

"There was this massive explosion!" Rikku answered, waving her arms for emphasis, "The new Shinra Reactor blew up!"

Yuna swallowed. Her fears had been confirmed. The Reactor. The project that Shinra, and all the rest of Spira, had put all its resources into for the last year…all gone. How would the Youth League and the Machine Faction feel about this? The two organizations had finally agreed to work together, and they had even taken knew names to consummate their partnership with Shinra. The Youth League had chosen the name "Soldier". They would serve as the new Shinra Corporation's military defense. The Machine Faction would from now on be known as "The Turks," and they would be Shinra's investigative department. Everything had seemed so perfect…

"Yuna, there's something else." Rikku's young face was unusually serious. "A whole bunch of people were injured. A lot of them are dead…"

Yuna felt her heart jump into her throat. "He…" she breathed, "Is he…"

Rikku shook her head, her braids flapping. "I don't know. I haven't had any time to check on anyone. I'm sure he'll be-,"

Yuna didn't give her a chance to finish. She broke into desperate a run, taking the steps down to the cloisters three at a time. This was where they brought all the injured…

She stumbled out into the sunshine of the courtyard, just in time to see three men emerge from another section of the temple. Two of them were supporting the third, who was limping badly. He looked up and met Yuna's eyes. With a strangled cry, the High Summoner flew across the courtyard, launching herself at the man and almost knocking him over.

"Tidus! I was so scared, I though you might be…"

The man put his arms around her. His embrace wasn't as strong as it usually was, but he seemed to be alright. "Calm down," he soothed, "I'm alive. But you're kind of hurting my leg."

Yuna stepped back. The two men resumed their task of helping Tidus to the infirmary. Yuna trailed a little behind. "What happened?" she asked.

"Something went wrong," Tidus told her, "There was an explosion. Shinra said it could have lasting damage."

"Lasting damage?"

"Yeah," Tidus, grunting as his leg bumped against one of the men's, "He thinks the explosion could have had an effect on the entire land. The tectonic plates…or something like that…they're going to shift."

"Huh?" Yuna didn't understand what he was talking about. Tectonic plates? Shifting?

Tidus must have heard her bemused tone. "The land is going to drift apart," he explained gravelly.

Yuna stopped dead. "What?"

Tidus glanced back over his shoulder at her. "That's what Shinra said. He's just a kid, but he's pretty smart, ya know?"

Yuna knew. Shinra had to be the most intelligent person she had ever met. _There must be something he can do, _she thought, _We cannot just let the world drift apart! _

"Wait," Vincent said, looking up, "The land drifted apart?"

Lucrecia dropped the history file onto the table. Sitting back in her chair, she crossed her arms. "Yes. That's why there is more than one continent. If it hadn't been for that initial Shinra explosion, the Planet wouldn't look like it does today."

Vincent let his breath out in a low whistle. It was hard to imagine that the ground beneath him had been blown apart by human means. What kind of force did it take to do something of that scale? It seemed Mako was much more powerful than he had previously imagined.

"So what happened next?" he asked excitedly, "Do the files say anything else about the High Summoner and Spira and everything else?"

Lucrecia shrugged. "Not really. Yuna and Tidus lived happily ever after. They thought they had done something so wonderful for our world. They never discovered they had set something so horrible into motion. And how could they have?" Lucrecia rubbed her eyes tiredly. "We all do what we can, and when we can't even do that anymore, we…"

"We what?" Vincent prompted her.

A misty, rather far away look came into Lucrecia's eyes. "We die."

"Oh," Vincent answered, unsettled. "So Shinra was started by a kid?"

Lucrecia seemed to come back to herself. "Yes. Shinra was a 12 year-old boy with delusions of grandeur. I'm sure he meant well, but…" she sighed, "It definitely didn't turn out well. But here," she raised her glass. "A toast to your first mission as leader of the Turks."

Vincent raised his own glass, which was full of a rather cheap wine Lucrecia had produced from a cupboard in her room. He didn't drink though, and neither did Lucrecia. They were kidding themselves and they knew it. Neither of them had any reason to celebrate Vincent's appointment as leader of the Turks. He would now be expected to kill or be killed.

But he wasn't going to stand for that. The moment he set foot outside of the Shinra Facility, he was gone. There was no way he was giving up this chance for freedom. In a few hours, he would leave. And he wouldn't be coming back.

Lucrecia's face was unreadable from where she sat across the table from him. If she knew Vincent planned to escape, she gave no sign. She would never tell anyone, he was sure, but he had been slightly wary around her ever since he had realized who she had reminded him of for the last few months.

They had the same mannerisms, the same way of drifting out of the world every so often. Seph was there, in her features, in her eyes, in her hair. They looked so much alike Vincent was astounded her hadn't noticed before.

And then came the most baffling thought of all. Could Lucrecia and Seph be brother and sister? Vincent had thought and re-thought this possibility over and over, and he couldn't come up with a good reason why or why not. He could always have asked Lucrecia, but whenever he was around her he just never was able to work up the nerves. He would have asked Seph, but he hadn't seen him for months. He didn't even know if he was still alive.

Well, he would find out. As soon as he was free of the choking clutches of the Shinra Laboratories, he would make sure everything was put to right. He would rescue Seph as soon as he could. He would make his way back to the Mithril Mountains and (his heart wrenched as he thought of it) bear the tidings of Kai's death to her family. And then maybe, just maybe, he would save Lucrecia as well. She had made it very clear she didn't enjoy working with the Shinra. Vincent had often wondered how she had ended up here. She was an incredible woman; she didn't belong with the sickos who ran the labs.

"So, when are you leaving?"

"What?" Vincent asked sharply, jerking up out of his thoughts.

Lucrecia raised an eyebrow. "I meant, when does your mission start?"

"Oh," Vincent said, rather sheepishly, "At five o-, I mean seventeen hundred hours."

Lucrecia smiled. "I see you're beginning to pick up the lingo."

He shrugged. It wouldn't matter soon. Forty-five minutes, to be exact, he saw, glancing at the clock on Lucrecia's wall.

Corel was a small town. It showed up as nothing more than a tiny blip on the radar of the helicopter flying over the continent, black against the crimson-drenched evening sky. Flying was nearly the only way to reach Corel from the north. It was unapproachable by sea, and anyone foolish enough to try to reach it on foot would be forced to scramble over half the mountain rage. And the Shinra were the only ones with access to helicopters.

Vincent sat in the back of this agonizingly loud machine, contemplating asking the driver if he could just get out and walk to. He didn't like flying. It brought up too many memories of two months ago. Lying on the floor of Cid's plane, with Kai just a few inches away from him.

He squeezed his eyes shut. He wouldn't think about that right now. There would be plenty of time to dwell on his past mistakes once he was free. He would get as far away from the Shinra as possible, somewhere down in the Southern Continent, maybe. Somewhere he would never have to think of the mountains or the labs ever again.

"We're approaching Corel, Sir," the pilot called.

"Uh, good." Vincent had to shout to be heard amidst the roar of the propellers. "That's good." He attempted to put a bit of authority in his voice. It didn't work very well. And what did it matter? He was gone the moment the helicopter touched the ground…

The one flaw in his plan was waiting for him the moment he stepped out into the breezy evening.

Corel was a small town, smaller than Kalm had been, and much more empty. There wasn't a single person sitting on a porch, or leaning out of one of the windows along the narrow street. Everything was locked and barred.

And Vincent saw precisely why.

There was already a group of Shinra representatives standing on the edge of town, facing him. He had been told there would be, and he hadn't really thought much of it. Reno and Tseng were both there, wearing the Turk garments that matched Vincent's. There were also several other men (or women, he couldn't tell) dressed in the bulky combat suits of Soldier. And someone else.

Vincent stared. Whatever he had been expecting on his first mission, this definitely wasn't it. The man standing in the center of the Shinra group was tall and fair, his silver hair slithering down his back, contrasting with the pitch black of his coat.

It was Seph.

_But it can't be…_Vincent thought as he stumbled forward. He was too old. Just a few months ago Seph had been _his_ age. The man standing before him couldn't have been younger than twenty five. But as Vincent approached, his lips twitched into a smirk, lighting his pale eyes up in a familiar way.

"So this is the infamous Vincent Valentine." He held out a hand. "I'm Sephiroth. I lead Soldier."

"Yeah, nice to…nice to meet you." Vincent didn't know why he was acting this way. If this truly was Seph, he should know who he was. Unless of course, something had happened to him. Vincent had lost his memory for awhile; maybe Seph had never gotten his back.

_And what is all of this? _he couldn't help thinking, _Put-a-lab-experiment-in-charge week? _

"We should get started, boss." Reno fingered the trigger on his gun, his words jostling Vincent out of his thoughts. "The natives aren't being very compliant."

"Shut up," Tseng snapped before Vincent could respond. "He's not in charge here."

"Yes, I am." Vincent blinked. Somehow, those words had come out of his mouth. "I killed Erika, so now I'm the leader." Someone had to exert authority here, but he was surprised that it had been he. Maybe this demon transformation had done more than just reconfigure his body.

Sephiroth was watching approvingly. "I like this guy," he said, and Vincent couldn't be sure if he was talking to himself or Reno and Tseng. Whatever the case, no one made any protest as Vincent approached, closing the last few feet between himself and the rest of the Shinra. His escape plans would have to be put on hold until he could find out what was going on. Finding Seph here had brought up a new snag in the proceedings.

"What's the situation?" It seemed like the thing to ask. He didn't want to sound unprofessional. There was no reason to give Tseng another reason to undermine his authority.

Sephiroth glanced back at Corel distastefully. "We gave them the chance to evacuate, but they haven't taken it. The idiots don't think we'll live up to our threats." He laughed.

It wasn't a pleasant sound.


	15. Complete and Unconditional Surrender

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE FF7 CHARACTERS. CAPS LOCK, BABY!

Authors Note: Once again, my sincerest apologies for cranking out the story so slowly. I have had a killer amount of homework and a low concentration of inspiration of late. Hopefully, things will get better from here on out.

Chapter 15

Complete and Unconditional Surrender

There was a storm approaching.

The wind had dropped, leaving Corel Village in the hazy warmth of late evening. It was calm, but a charged, anxious kind of calm, as though everything was filled with anticipation. Vincent knew this weather well. It had been a sign back in Kalm to drop your whatever you were doing and get inside as quick as you could, or risk being caught out on the Overworld, where the only thing in sight for the lightening to strike was you.

Sephiroth seemed to have noticed the shift in the atmosphere as well. He had his head lifted upwards, hair streaming back like a steel waterfall. He sniffed at the air a few times, and then looked back down, glancing in Vincent's direction. "Let's do this quickly, I don't like being caught in the rain."

"Sure, okay," Vincent answered, "What are we supposed to be doing?"

Tseng snickered and Reno rolled his eyes. Sephiroth's lip curled a bit. "A Reactor is being built up on the cliffs." He pointed up in the direction of the high bluffs, which cut Corel off from the sea. "We need this space for generators." He swung his arms in a wide arch. "Unfortunately, the village is taking up all the valuable space."

Vincent blinked. "So you need them to leave so you can tear the place down?"

"Exactly," Sephiroth answered, seemingly pleased that Vincent had worked it out on his own. "That's why you're here. The Turks are the one's who mingle with the locals. We just blow things up."

Once again, Vincent couldn't tell whether he was trying to be funny or not. There was an amused grin on his face, like all of this was just a careless game, but his eyes remained hard, as though they didn't like what they saw. Those eyes seemed to be the only thing this part of Seph this new _Sephiroth _still possessed.

"Alright," Vincent said. He had never been that accomplished at talking to people he didn't know, but somehow he had to convince that people of Corel to relocate. He had seen enough of Shinra in the past three months to be sure that they raze the town, even it was still inhabited. Human lives meant nothing to them.

As he started toward the stile that marked the entrance to the town, a thought he had been experiencing a great deal lately gripped him. _Why me? Why did the Shinra think I was the right one to modify? _They had snatched him up and tortured him, but now they had put him in charge.When Reno and Tseng followed him to the edge of the village, a sort of confidence seemed to rise in him. That's right. He _was _in charge. What he said went. He could escape right now, but he had the feeling that if he didn't convince the villagers to leave, this new and reasonably frightening Seph would march in and kill everything, whether they be man, woman, child, or donkey. (He had seen some donkeys grazing in a field a little ways out of town)

. Only a few months ago, Seph had been hiding from the people he had now become one of. The same people who had completely raped Vincent's life of any meaning it ever had. The irony was almost laughable.

But he couldn't hear anyone laughing.

The layout of Corel was remarkably like that of Kalm. As he followed a wide, snaking avenue, Vincent saw familiar features, such as a small pub and even smaller homes. There was not the barest trace of any kind of Mako power here at all. No streetlights, no fountains. Just decrepit old wells spaced at regular intervals between the equally decrepit buildings. The poverty here was terrible; worse than that of Vincent's hometown. He didn't understand how Shinra could want to force any of the villagers out, when they already had so little to begin with.

They didn't see a single living soul until the reached to the town square. A solitary tree, its branches bare of any sign of it ever having leaves, stood in the center. Standing beneath its gnarled, naked branches were two men. One was tall, black, and angry-looking. The other was white and smaller, his face utterly blank. They were both holding semi-automatic rifles that looked more expensive than most of the town put together. Evidently, Corel had been expecting them, and this was the welcome wagon.

"Can we help ya'll?" the big one asked.

When Vincent didn't answer right away, Reno stepped to his shoulder. "Yeah, you can. You can get the hell out of this dump right away, and bring your rat-shit neighbors with you."

Vincent grimaced. That was diplomacy for you. The men, however, didn't seem very surprised at this response. The black man laughed a deep, throaty, dangerous laugh. "Ya'll jus think come into ou' town an' kick us out? You ain't nothin' but a bunch of kids."

"I would leave," Vincent said, trying to keep his voice steady, "If I were you."

The men both turned their glares in his direction. "Fuck you, man! Comin' into our town with yo' shiny glove and pushin' us around. Who the hell do you think you are? "

Vincent couldn't prevent a little smile from tugging at the corner of his lips as he glanced down at his golden arm. He flexed the clawed fingers. "The previous leader…retired. I'm her replacement."

The men glanced at each other. "What'ya think, Barret," the smaller one said, raising an eyebrow, "Should we shoot 'em now?"

"I would advise against it," came a calm voice from behind Vincent. Sephiroth had approached, silent as a fox. His coat billowed in the wind, which had sprung up again, stronger than ever. The storm was almost upon them.

The black man, Barret, tightened his grip on his gun. "Yeah?" he said gruffly, "Why's that?"

"Because," Sephiroth continued, that calm, reasonable look still on his face, "There is currently a large Mako Cannon aimed at your town. Give me a reason, and I'll order it to fire."

Vincent watched as he spoke, still barely believing that this was the same person that had hidden in Scarlet's shed three months ago. It wasn't possible. No one could age that fast, but here he was, standing in front of him, and looking more like Lucrecia than he ever had before. It was truly uncanny. And of course, the words he spoke were strange as well. Here he was, condemning an entire town to its death, and his face was as blank as they come. He didn't care, that much was obvious.

"Am I right in thinking that you two gentleman are going to continue to be stubborn?"

"Yeah, that's right!" Barret answered, "Me and Dain ain't go'in nowhere at all."

_No, _Vincent thought, _Wrong answer!_

Sephiroth raised his hand to his mouth. Evidently, there was some communication device in his gloved palm, because he spoke one word.

"Fire."

This was followed by a resounding clap of thunder. Vincent looked to the sky, expecting to see that the storm had finally broken. But no, instead he saw something hurtling toward them. A huge, round, flaming something. The two men leapt out of the way as it crashed down into the square, a mere two feet from where they had been standing. The dead tree was immediately enveloped in a blanket of flame.

And then the town woke up.

A moment ago it had been utterly empty, a ghost town. But now people were pouring out of the buildings, weapons in their hands ranging from muskets to pitchforks. It would seem that many of them had been lying in wait for some form of violence against their village. Still others were hanging out the windows, curious as to what all the sudden commotion was about.

"No you idiots!" Vincent yelled. "Stay inside!" No one listened. He doubted that anyone had actually heard him.

The deafening boom rang out over the town again. This time, the cannon found a target. A man and a woman, both of them carrying long butcher knives, disappeared in a explosion of smoke. Vincent was sure that no one would ever find any sign of them ever again. Rubble blasted out in all directions, injuring any who were standing nearby. The townspeople looked ready to fight to the death for their homes. Their bravery was admirable, if extremely ill-advised. Vincent had seen what Soldier could do to a town.

And suddenly Soldier was here. They were entering the village from all sides, armed with weapons that put the civilians' blunt axes and rolling pins to shame. Their midnight blue uniforms made it easy for them to blend in with the quickly darkening night. Clouds obscured the moon, and the wind whipped Vincent's hair into a wild frenzy. Sephiroth was still standing beside him, sword drawn and eyes shining in the light of the flames. His silver mane of hair streamed out behind him. He cut a much more impressive figure than Vincent could ever hope to pull off.

Vincent felt strangely unconnected with the chaos ensuing around him. He could hear the screams of rage and pain, he could smell the gunpowder in the air, and he could feel the heat coming off in waves from the burning tree. But he didn't seem to be part of it. Until he felt a heavy hand on his shoulder.

"Let's go, Valentine." Sephiroth winked. "Let's see you put that shiny arm to use."

Vincent blinked. The world seemed to rush back. "What?" he asked shakily, "Where are we going?"

Sephiroth pointed up to the plateau. Train tracks climbed it, running up to where the reactor was being built. Vincent was sure it was used to bring supplies to the workers. It must have led to where the cannon was. Squinting, Vincent could see two forms beginning the long climb to the top. He turned his gaze back to the town square. Even in the chaos, he could see that Barret and his friend, Dain, were no longer there.

"Let's go," Vincent agreed. Anything to get away from the town. He had never been in a real battle before, and it made him feel funny. Half of him wanted to escape, and the other half wanted to raise his claw and kill everything in reach.

Lucrecia never cried. She had learned a long time ago, tears never did anyone any good. It was best not to let any emotion out at all, that way no one would ever be able to call you weak.

Lucrecia _never _cried.

So as she stared at the damp spots on the lab write-up she was working on, she felt fairly confused. About everything. Nothing made sense anymore. Not that it made much before, but now it made less than ever. Now, it felt like there was something clawing at Lucrecia's insides, something that had been asleep for a long time.

_Dammit, _she thought, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand, _What is going on? _

She must be getting sick. Yes, that was definitely it. She would get some sleep, and everything would go back to normal. The numb, lifeless existence that was normal. She would eat something and…but no, she couldn't bring herself to eat. She couldn't bring herself to go back to her room and have dinner alone. She had had a dining companion for the past few months. And now he was gone.

There wasn't a doubt in Lucrecia's mind that Vincent would take his chance. For some reason, Dr. Hojo seemed to believe he was on Shinra's side, but she knew him better then that. He would get out while he could, and she was happy for him. A small part of her wished she could have gone with him. It would have been nice to see the stars again, breathe something other than filtered air pushed out through ventilation ducts. She could go somewhere far away, so far that she wouldn't ever have to hear the name Shinra again.

But the realist in her knew it was impossible. Her fate had been sealed the day she stepped into the facility.

Still, she refused to go back to her rooms. Even after she packed up her files and closed her lab stations down, she wandered the bright, silent halls, going where her feet took her. Her feet took her somewhere she knew she shouldn't be. Without even realizing it, Lucrecia found herself outside of that office door, the one she had stood in front of so many different times, trying to force herself through.

She raised her fist and knocked.

"Come in."

Lucrecia let herself in. Hojo glanced up from his desk. He looked strained. There were dark circles under his eyes and his hair was mussed. His clothes were wrinkled, as though he had slept in them the night before.

"Good evening, Lucrecia." He rubbed his eyes and stood up. "How may I be of assistance?"

Lucrecia didn't answer, she just closed the door behind her. Hojo raised an eyebrow. A small smile crept over his lips. "What's this? You-coming to visit me? I'm touched."

Lucrecia paced around the desk until she was a foot from him. "Just shut up. Don't talk to me."

She leaned in, kissing him first, something that hadn't happened in a long time. Slipping into his embrace, she shut out her thoughts. Hojo's breath was warm on her lips.

She closed her eyes.

Vincent and Sephiroth sprang into a run. They took a side street toward the train tracks, away from the battle between the villagers and Soldier.

I probably don't have to mention who was winning.

It had been a long time since he had been outside, and even in the situation, Vincent couldn't resist the feeling that washed over him as he raced through the night, the wind tearing at his clothes and the rain lashing his face. It was beyond exhilaration. It was ecstasy. From the on his face, Vincent was sure Sephiroth was feeling it too.

They didn't stop when they reached the tracks, just kept running, uphill now, following the two men who threatened their operation. Vincent wasn't really concerned with what that operation was at the moment. He was content just to fly.

Somehow, even with the large head start Barret and his friend had had, they were gaining on them. They reached a place where the ground leveled out. They were now on one of the lower plateaus, where the cliff dropped away and the train tracks continued along a narrow bridge. The two men they were pursuing were barely halfway across when Sephiroth pulled ahead of Vincent. He moved faster than he had ever seen any human being move before. In half a moment he had reached them, drawing his sword as he went. Dain barely had time to turn and fire. But he did.

The gun cracked like another peal of thunder. Red splattered across the tracks. Sephiroth's eyes were wide and his face was white as he stumbled. And then fell. But at the last moment, Vincent saw him lash out, onto Dain by the shirt. The other man, Barret, reacted instantly, grabbing his friend's hand. Sephiroth fell. Dain didn't,

But he was by no means safe, dangling as he was hundreds of feet from the ground. The only thing between him and his death was the strength of Barret's arm, which seemed fairly considerable.

"Hold on, man!" Barret yelled, tightening his grip, "I'll pull you up."

But neither of them had taken Vincent into account , who up till now had been frozen in horror. Now, an inexpressible anger gripped him. It was horribly familiar, burying under his skin and clawing through his stomach. Before he knew what was happening he had drawn his gun. A second shot in a minute sounded, the crack resounding of the sheer cliff walls rising up on both sides. There was an explosion of blood and Barret fell back onto the tracks.

Vincent had shot their entwined hands. Dain yelled and followed Sephiroth down toward the river far, far below.

"Dain!" Barret screamed, cradling his ruined hand in his shirt as he struggled to the edge of the tracks. "Dain, no!" It was only a moment before he turned on Vincent. His eyes were etched with fury. Grasping for his gun with his one remaining hand, he struggled to get a grip on the barrel.

But before he could even get close, Vincent felt a familiar bubbling in his stomach. He retched, falling to his knees, his body beginning to shake violently. After a few seconds, his pain-filled gasps became growls. He was bombarded for the second time in his life with a whole array of new senses. The man in front of him with a gigantic gun became nothing more than a minor annoyance. Not worthy of his notice.

At the bottom of the cliff, in the town of Corel, the fire had spread. It had made its way from the single sickly tree in the town square to a row of houses on the side of the street. The villagers barely noticed. It was difficult to notice anything when you were dead.

But the Soldiers saw it. A black shape streaking across the moon, with wings as strong and grand as an eagle's, but an eagle the color of ink. It struck off toward the south, but then wheeled around, heading back to them. The men and women of Shinra's elite fighting force had seen and done an innumerable amount of things, but the sight of this black thing hurtling across the sky sent thrills of fear through their hearts. Hearts that couldn't remember feeling fear in a long time.

It was a long, hard fall. The splash Sephiroth's body made as it hit the waters of the Grey River echoed through the canyon. For a moment, he sunk, heading down toward the bottom, a cold, alien world of waving grasses and darting silver fish. The feeling of the water flowing over his skin was soothing, and he would have been content to just drift; let the life leak slowly from his body. But he knew he couldn't.

Sephiroth's eyes snapped open. He struck out for the surface with both arms, feeling his brain desperately crying out for oxygen. His limbs were heavy and it felt like he was making no progress at all, but suddenly his face broke out into the cool night air. He swam unhindered to the bank (there wasn't much of a current) and dragged himself up onto dry land. It wasn't until he had ceased all motion that he felt the pain racking his body. Everything hurt, but most of all, an area in his lower chest.

As gently as he could, he unbuttoned his coat, until he was able to work a hand inside his shirt to gauge the damage. His fingertips came away red. He had been shot by the smaller man, Dain, it had been. Sephiroth knew he would die if he didn't get help soon; it was a miracle he had survived the fall at all, and he didn't want to push his luck. But there was no way he could make himself stand up. He barely had the strength to wiggle his big toe, let alone drag himself up a cliff.

So this was how it was going to end. Alone, all alone, without anyone to mourn for him, anyone to remember. At some point, there must have been someone who had cared for him, a mother or a father, or even just a friend. He couldn't remember, no matter how hard he tried. If there ever had been something to his life besides Shinra and Soldier, it was lost to him. The thought almost made him cry. Almost.

The sound of thunder boomed out over the canyon, and Sephiroth noticed for the first time the kiss of rain on his face. He was so wet already that it made a difference. The drops clung to his eyelashes, blurring the dark sky and making it seem like something was moving toward him. But something was moving toward him. A black, silent, winged something.

It alighted on the bank, raising its head. It had the shape of a human man, dressed in dark rags a couple of shades lighter than its skin, which was as black as pitch. Rain ran in rivulets down its body and drenched its hair, pasting it against a face set with bright red eyes. As Sephiroth watched, unable to move, the beast folded its massive wings and took a step forward. He stiffened, not wanting it to come near him. Groaning, he managed to pull himself into a sitting position. The pain in his chest was almost unbearable.

The beast bent down when it reached him. Sephiroth felt around unconsciously for his gun, but it was nowhere to be found. Must likely it was sitting on the bed of the Grey River. The beast opened its eyes wide, and Sephiroth found himself entranced. His whole world had become reduced to those two glowing red orbs. Even the pain was dulling a bit. And then he passed out.

Sephiroth was a good-sized man, tall and muscular. The beast picked him up like he weighed nothing more than a rag doll. It was careful to avoid slicing his arm with its one clawed hand. Then it turned its face back to the storm-tossed sky. Its wings unfurled, and it flapped them experimentally a few times, before launching itself into the air.

It struck off north, toward the mountains and the Shinra Labs.


	16. A Heart Full of Nothing

Disclaimer: I don't own the Final Fantasy characters. They own me.

Chapter 16

The observatory was the only place to see the sky. It stood high on a peak of the northern mountains, several hundred feet above the rest of the lab. Because of its position, it was impervious to the impossibly bright floodlights that kept the grounds surrounding the Shinra facility looking like day all through the night. Security was tight, but it couldn't extend up to the observatory.

It was Lucrecia's sanctuary. The crystalline glass arching across the dome made her feel at home. The home she had left years and years ago. On the southern islands, there had never been a need to block out the sky. The stars were supposed to make you feel insignificant, but they never seemed that way to Lucrecia. They made her feel infinite, like something that could never be destroyed.

The only way to reach the observatory was through a long tunnel, running from the main facility to a small elevator that only operated for a special pass code. Once inside, the difference was striking. The polished wooden floor and rows of towering bookshelves contrasted impressively with the never ending sterile-white hallways that made up the Shinra labs. In the center of the huge room was a silver ladder leading up to the viewing platform of an enormous telescope.

Lucrecia was standing on this, peering out into the night sky. She had been hoping to catch sight of a constellation the Planet was entering tonight, but the storm raging outside made that all but impossible. Snow hit the dome, only to melt then and there against the warmth of the glass.

She pulled her gaze away from the eye-piece of the telescope. There was nothing to see, and there wasn't any point to remain in the observatory because of that. Lucrecia cursed the weather in all its entirety. Now she had no choice but to return to the main labs, a place she liked to avoid if at all possible. She sighed, taking one last look through the telescope. She blinked in surprise. The snow had stopped falling. For a brief moment, she saw nothing but blackness, before the snow returned to its swirling against the night sky. She abandoned the telescope and looked up at the dome. Quickly, Lucrecia realized that the snow hadn't _stopped _falling, rather something had come between it and her. A something that was now hovering above the glass.

Lucrecia couldn't make out what it was; it was too bright in the room. Nearly falling off the ladder in her haste to get down, she raced to the light switch. She threw it, plunging the observatory into semi-darkness. The world outside was illuminated by the faint snow-light, giving her a perfect view of the shape above the glass.

It was large and completely black, a darker patch of the night that had disattched itself from the rest. Feathery wings sprung from its back and in its arms it carried a bundle of some sort. As she watched, it flapped its wings, shooting up into the snow-filled air. When it was at least ten feet from the dome, it flipped over in the air and folded its wings. The creature plunged downwards, smashing through the (supposedly) impenetrable glass of the observatory roof.

Splinters and shards sprayed in all directions. Lucrecia screamed, falling to the floor and covering her face with her hands. The freezing wind, now free to come in as it pleased, clutched at her, feeling like knives on her bare arms. Looking up, she saw the hole in the dome, a jagged gaping mouth opening its way into eternity.

The creature, whatever it was, was lying motionless on the ground in that mess of shattered glass. Beside him lay something else. It was not a bundle, as Lucrecia had first imagined, but a man with silver hair that matched her own. Her breath burst from her in a frightened gasp. Sephiroth! Was he dead? Had the monster done something to him? She hastened over, searching for a pulse where his jaw line met his collarbone. It was there, fast and steady.

Lucrecia stood back up, turning her eyes to the monster. It was as black as coal, ragged hair snaking its way halfway down its back. Its magnificent wings lay splayed at odd angles; at least one of them looked broken. Its arms were muscular and ended in curved talons. Or at least, one of them did. The other merged into a gold gauntlet; one Lucrecia had seen countless times.

"Damn," she muttered, "Vincent! What now?"

The monster twitched slightly at the sound of her voice. Its eyes opened slightly, becoming red slits. All at once, its body shuddered. Suddenly, Lucrecia wasn't looking not at a monster, but at Vincent, clothed in a mess of black rags that she recognized as the tatters of a Turk uniform.

Lucrecia turned and ran toward the door, nearly tripping in her haste. The intercom on the control panel crackled as she slammed her fist against the call button. There was a static-filled pause, and then-

"Yes?" A voice drifted from the speaker.

"Sir-it's-Vincent," she gasped, trying to keep herself under control. "He just…smashed down through the observatory."

There was another pause. "Lucrecia, you are making nothing resembling the realm of sense." Hojo sounded slightly perturbed. "Can you be more clear?"

"No! Vincent just fell through the dome!" Her voice dropped. "Sir, Sephiroth is with him."

Yet another anxious pause. "I'll send someone."

As it turned out, Hojo sent himself. His usual lab coat was absent, replaced by a black business suit. Lucrecia had evidently just pulled him out of an important meeting. His face was flushed and his tie was slightly askew. He must have run the whole way through the tunnel. "Where?"

Lucrecia pointed, though she didn't think it was necessary. All Hojo had to do was head toward the mess of broken glass in the center of the room. This he did, cursing under his breath as he bent down over the two men whose safety was his concern. They were his projects, his masterpieces. Losing them would be like losing his own children. He checked their pulses, then pressed one of the buttons on a wristband he always wore. It was up-linked to the facility's principle server. Only a few minutes elapsed before a clattering was heard outside the observatory door. Lucrecia turned to see four personnel, three men and a woman, with two stretchers between them.

Sephiroth and Vincent were hauled onto these and dragged off to who-knows-where. Lucrecia and Hojo were left alone in the chilly observatory. Shinra's top scientist glanced up to the ruined dome. "Mmmm," he mused, "The president won't be pleased. He loved this room."

"He's never _been_ here," Lucrecia reminded him.

Hojo looked at her and shrugged. "It was an expensive and unprecedented project. The president was the first man to ever requisite the building of a room of this magnitude." He rubbed his eyes with a thumb and forefinger. "The fact that he has never even entered the facility is not an issue."

Lucrecia was about to inquire more about how this confusing corporate mind worked, when she realized who she was speaking to. She promptly closed her lips, the memory of a certain tongue slipping through them making her queasy. Hojo however, didn't seem to be interested in any of that at the moment. He was acting rather distracted, constantly checking his watch and tapping his foot.

"I have to get back to work, Lucrecia," he said finally, turning to the door.

"Uh, Sir?"

He glanced back. "Will they be alright?"

Hojo gave her a very weak smile. "They'll be better than alright, my dear. Better." Before Lucrecia could ask him to elaborate on this statement, he left, exiting through the door the stretcher bearers had used.

It took Lucrecia quite a long time to find where Vincent and Sephiroth had been deposited. They had been brought to a lab she had never ventured into before. It was quite small and darker than any working space should be. The boys were both there, lying on separate operating tables, both of them stripped to the waist. A whole array of wires covered them, attached to their arms, chests and necks. There were no other scientists in the room.

Lucrecia crossed to the bank of computers set off to one side, displaying their vital signs. Both their pulses were regular and their breathing was steady. Vincent's blood sugar was a bit low, but that could be easily put to right as soon as he woke up. Food was the best prescription for that ailment. The only thing that seemed in the least bit odd was the small screen that displayed their DNA structure. It was Vincent's that concerned her. It looked different. Of course, it had always been a bit different than any other human beings, but now there was something wrong.

Vincent's seemed to have too many strands in it, as though it had been exposed to ultraviolet light for an extended period of time. But that was impossible; they had been lying there for less than half an hour, nothing could alter DNA that fast. Lucrecia glanced toward Sephiroth's data to compare them, and gave a little cry of surprise. His was changing too, morphing before her very eyes.

What was going on?

She hit a few buttons on the keyboard, checking different organs methodically. Kidneys, liver, stomach, heart, lungs. Everything seemed in order. At least, until she reached the blood.

Lucrecia's mouth opened in shock. The blood cells were multiplying innumerably. It was like watching a sped up reel of cancer; a years worth of damage unfolding in seconds. But then why weren't they dead? She found the answer a moment later. As fast as new cells were forming, old cells were dying. What was worse, they didn't even seem to come from anywhere.

Ordinary cell reproduction occurred when a cell split in two, helped along by its centriole. These cells were just springing from nowhere, and the strangest part was…they weren't the right cells. It was like Sephiroth's and Vincent's bodies were being overrun by some alien force.

Lucrecia locked the computer, took one last look at the two boys, then sprinted from the room, completely disregarding the intercom. She needed to speak to him face to face.

"Sir!" she gasped, nearly falling into his office before he could respond to her knock. Hojo sat behind his desk, pen poised over a report, as she fought to catch her breath. "Sir…it's Vincent…and Sephiroth…some…thing…wrong!"

Hojo's brow furrowed. "I don't understand."

Lucrecia wiped the perspiration out of her eyes. "Their cells…I don't know what's wrong…Sir, their DNA and their cells, they're all…wrong."

Hojo looked confused for a moment. Then a wave of relief seemed to break over his face. He stood up and came around to the front of his desk. "It's alright, my dear. It's a normal part of the procedure.

Lucrecia stared. "_Normal_?" she asked incredulously.

"Yes, completely normal. Now, why don't you go back to your room and have something to drink?" He put a hand against the small of her back, guiding her to the door.

Lucrecia nodded. "Alright."

* * *

It was different this time.

Vincent experienced none of the muddled helplessness he usually felt whenever he awoke after being unconscious for an extended period of time. He knew exactly where he was and he knew exactly what had happened. He had changed again. His demon side had emerged when that man, Dane, had shot Seph.

His eyes snapped open. He was in his bedroom back in the facility. His clothes sat on the table, neatly folded in a pile. He rose, feeling none of the usual aches and pains his body had to deal with most days. He felt great. Better than great, he felt _brilliant. _

Pulling his clothes on, he let himself out into the white hallway. He didn't know what he felt like doing, but he knew he had to do _something. _He couldn't just sit around when he was feeling like this. He wanted run, he wanted to jump, he wanted to fly. His feet took him to the only place to do that; the gym in the southern building.

It was empty, as usual. Vincent didn't think he had ever seen anyone besides himself work out there. With a whoop, he ran at one of the ropes dangling from the ceiling, scaling nearly a quarter of its length in a single bound. It didn't take him much longer to reach the top.

After that he ran a couple laps around the gym, did push-ups, and preformed a couple back flips. Even then, he was still full of some sort of crazy energy. It was like he was on drugs or something. He was just about to leave to see if there was anything else to do in this god damn place, when a voice called to him from the other side of the massive room.

"Hey, Valentine!"

There was only one person who called him that. Vincent turned, greeting Sephiroth with a wave. The Soldier looked strange without his long coat and his hair pulled back behind his shoulders. He crossed the gym quickly, and Vincent got the impression he was as just as full of energy as he was.

"How are you?" he asked when he approached.

Vincent shrugged. "I feel really good, for some reason."

Sephiroth grinned. It was the same smile he had given Vincent back in Corel. Perfectly normal in the region of the lips, but it left the eyes completely unchanged. They remained as hard as ever. "I know what you mean. I woke up a few weeks ago feeling the same. It's kept up till now." His expression suddenly grew grave. "I have a question for you."

"What is it?" Vincent asked, stretching his right arm, which was beginning to cramp up a bit.

Sephiroth fixed him with his clear blue gaze. "I fell off that bridge. It was my mistake. I should have died, it would have been right. But then something saved me." Here he paused, passing a hand over his face. "I-I think it was a monster…I'm not sure." He looked back up. "Was it you?"

Vincent frowned. For some reason, Sephiroth seemed mad. "Yeah, it was me," he said slowly. "So?"

"Why did you do it?" Sephiroth took a couple steps toward him. "Why in the hell did you waste your time?"

Vincent didn't have an answer to that. How could his friend think that he didn't want to save him? "I-I'm not really sure," he answered, to give himself some time. "I can't really control what I do when I get like that."

"Ah." Sephiroth seemed slightly appeased. "Anyway. I came here to work out."

"Yeah, I was leaving myself," Vincent said. "I guess I'll see you later." He turned to go.

"Hold on a moment, Valentine." Vincent turned. Sephiroth was smiling again, apparently all anger gone. "If I were you, I wouldn't waste this good mood. If you want something go on and take it. Just some friendly advice." He winked, then turned away, making for the ropes.

Vincent stood there for a few more seconds, before heading in the opposite direction and the door. He had been hit by a sudden desire to go visit Lucrecia. He hadn't seen her since he and the Turks had left for Corel. This in mind, he wandered off in the direction of her room. He met no one in the halls at all. This didn't surprise him much; there was hardly anyone in the Labs.

He had nearly reached Lucrecia's corridor, when there was a commotion behind him. Three men had appeared at the end of the hall, or rather, two men dragging someone smaller. The latter was struggling wildly against them, scratching and biting like his life depended on it. As they drew closer to Vincent, he was able to make out their faces. The men were unremarkable, dressed like any lab grunt.

Their captive was putting up quite a fight for a boy his size. "Leggo 'a me!" he squealed. Sweat plastered his dirty blue hair against his forehead and his tiny frame was shaking violently. But he ceased all motion when he saw Vincent. His eyes grew wide.

"Mister!" he yelled, pulling away from the men with renewed energy. "Hey, Mister! Help me, ya remember me, doncha?"

Vincent raised an eyebrow. The boy's shrill voice was giving him a headache. "No…"

"Come on! Ya know me, make them lemme go!" He was almost pleading now. "Ya gotta remember, Mister! Ya came to Falcon with the pretty lady and-"

Vincent hit him across the face. The boy went limp in the men's arms. "Thank you, Sir," one of them said as they continued on their way.

Vincent's heart was full of nothing as he watched them go. He remembered the little brat. It had been his fault that they hadn't caught Reno in Falcon, that they had been forced to go to Costa del Sol. It was his fault that Kai was dead.

Vincent's fist slammed into the wall, leaving a considerable dent. He looked at his bleeding knuckles, not knowing what to do with the anger building inside him. It was fuller, sharper than usual. So he ran to the only place he ever felt safe.

"Vincent, you're awake!" Lucrecia greeted him happily, letting him in. Her smile dropped, however, when she saw the expression on his face. "What's wrong?"

Vincent shook his head, sinking into a chair. It felt like there was something crawling beneath his skin. He dug his bloody fingers into his hair. "I don't know. I don't know!"

Lucrecia blinked in confusion. "Vincent, stop that."

For a moment, Vincent wondered what she meant. But then he felt the boiling in his stomach, the weight of wings on his back. With a massive effort, he fought it back down. Lucrecia placed her hand on his back where he sat hunched over.

"See? You can control it."

He looked up, hastily trying to wipe away the trail that tears had left on his cheeks. He didn't know how to explain to her that that wasn't what was wrong. It would be a blessing to change, to be able to stop thinking for just a moment. But he couldn't let her see him like that.

She clasped his right (and human) hand in her own. She smiled encouragingly, and then moved to sit down opposite him. But he didn't let go. She was jerked back, almost tripping in those ridiculous heels she wore.

"Vincent, what?"

He stood up, steadying her with a hand. It suddenly occurred to him that he had grown taller than her over the past few months. She was now forced to look up at him, instead of vice versa. Her storm-grey eyes were clouded with confusion, which quickly changed to shock when he pulled her against him. For a moment, she froze, memories of the man who usually did this clouding her mind. Then, her body seemed to realize there was no feeling of pain, no deep disgust. Vincent kissed hard, but not violently, like he was trying to suck the life from her. There was nothing frightening about it. Nothing wrong.

At the same time she was thinking this, something else was echoing in Vincent's brain.

_If you want something, go on and take it. _

Good advice.

His lips lingered on hers for a moment more, before she pulled away.

"What's wrong?" he asked, suddenly nervous. Was he out of line?

"Nothing's wrong," Lucrecia answered, her eyes burning. Her gaze left his face to linger on the wall behind him. "It's just, we're in the wrong room."

* * *

Lile awoke to bright lights and cold hands. There was a pounding in his head, like something was trying to force itself out through his eyeballs. He couldn't make out anything clearly; the world was nothing but a blur. He tried to utter some sort of sound, a yell, a squeak, anything; but he couldn't force his mouth to move.

Someone must have realized he was awake, because there was suddenly a whole flurry of activity around him. He could make out three, maybe four blurred shapes surrounding him. Every instinct he possessed, the cunning he had gleaned from years of living in the marketplaces, told him to run, to put as much distance as possible between himself and these fuzzy, looming beings. But Lile couldn't move. He didn't know it at the moment, but he was tied down.

He closed his eyes, his breathing calming slightly. He had been in bad scrapes before. _He _never panicked, _he _was the one all the street children from back home looked up to, their leader. The Artful Dodger of Fort Condor. He could escape.

Lile tried hard to remember how he had ended up like this.

He had been down on the street, like he always was during the morning hustle and bustle. It was the ideal time to pick up anything the market-goers happened to drop out of their pockets, or whatever was sticking foolishly _out _of their pockets. There had been a gaggle of men dressed in blue, deep in conversation. Wick, the little street girl who was Lile's favorite partner in crime indicated them with a flick of her grubby hand, keeping her eyes anywhere but in their direction. She was a practiced thief indeed.

Lile's face had split into a grin. Easy marks. Suddenly letting out a burst of cheerful laughter, Wick scampered toward the group of men, leaping cat-like onto a stall-counter. It was the most innocent thing in the world; a little girl playing around as the kiosk owner shooed her away with half a grin, but it provided Lile with the distraction he needed. Quick as a flash, he ran at the nearest man. Brushing by him, he slid his tiny hand easily into the man's trousers pocket. Staying low, he made to make a mad dash away; Wick would join him at the Lone Traveler. Since his mother had died, it had become a haven for all the children of Condor with no place to go. Lile was by no means the oldest, but he was without a doubt the unspoken leader.

His brilliant plan however, which had always worked so well, was ripped to shreds the moment he felt the vice-like grip on his shoulder.

"What you do'in there, street scum?" the man asked. He was dark-skinned, a southerner. His grey eyes were cold, and Lile could the see the spark of cruelty dancing within them. These had been the wrong men to rob.

"I ain't do'in nuffin'," he protested fiercely. Just then, a group Eastern men and

women passed. The men carried colorful cloth for the market, while the women bore baskets of fruit. With a scarcely a movement, Lile slipped the wallet into one of the baskets containing mangos. Now the men could search him all they wanted and they would find nothing, and there would be a nice surprise waiting for the Easterner woman.

"Nothin'? You're do'in nothin'?" The man looked unconvinced. The amused looks on his friend's faces made a small coil of fear rise into Lile's chest. But he didn't let it show on his face. He did that, and it was all over.

The man was now addressing his buddies. "What'ya think, boys?" he chuckled. "Do you think the scum's do'in nothin'?" The men laughed, some of them shaking their heads. Cruel Eyes grinned, glad to be the center of attention. "You know what I think? I think you was go'in after my wallet."

"No Sir!" Lile said quickly, hoping the man wouldn't have enough presence of mind to actually _check_ for his wallet.

"I say we bleed it out of him," another said, drawing a curved knife. This one had bright blue hair, about the color Lile's would be if it was ever clean. The man brought the knife closer to Lile's throat.

It was a mark of what kind of place the Condor Market was that no one stopped to intervene, that no one cared. The owner of the stall beside the spot the men and Lile were frequenting was whistling and pointedly looking the other way. If he didn't see a child get brutally murdered, it hadn't happened, correct?"

Cruel Eyes grinned again and took the knife the other man offered him. Jerking Lile's head back by the hair, he leered down at him, revealing two rows of yellowed teeth. Lile's closed his eyes, bracing himself. He could literally feel the cool kiss of the knife on his throat, when a voice suddenly cut through the white noise of the marketplace.

"Enough. Kill that boy, and I'll stick that blade somewhere unpleasant." The voice was commanding, high-toned, superior. The voice of a Lord, or master of some kind. Lile opened his eyes, and found that the knife was now safely back in its owner's belt. Standing before him was another man. He was taller than any of the others, paler too. Silvery hair spilled over his broad shoulders, shining to rival the polished metal wares being sold at the many surrounding stalls. His hand was on the hilt of a sword, but he hadn't yet drawn it. Bright blue eyes locked the first man in their gaze. Bitterly, he let go of Lile, giving him a shove. He stumbled, almost falling on his face, but a moment later he felt strong arms catch him. The tall man stooped until he and Lile were face to face.

"What's your name, kid?"

"Lile, M'lord." It seemed like the way to address this man. His politeness, however, was ruined by his next brusque comment. "Who're you?"

The man smiled slightly. "Sephiroth, Commander of the Soldier Core."

Lile nodded as though that meant to something to him. It sounded important, at least.

"We have to be going now," Sephiroth said, straightening up. He fixed Lile with a sharp gaze. "Would you like to accompany us, Lile?" The blue-haired man made a sound of protest, but Cruel Eyes elbowed him in the ribs, making it come out a grunt. Lile didn't register anything, as all his attention was focused on the man before him, who's eyes were strangely hypnotic.

_Answer yes, _they ordered.

"Yes," he said, his little face smiling happily.

That's how he ended up here, helpless to whatever was happening. The moment they had arrived at their destination, Sephiroth had delivered him to two men in white uniforms, breaking the spell his eyes seemed to hold over him. Lile suddenly had realized where he was and what he had been doing, and he had struggled.

Why hadn't the other man helped him? Vincent, that was his name. He had helped him in Condor, or at least, the lady had. She was nowhere to be seen.

"Awake, are you, my dear Lile?"

Lile's eyes snapped open. He found that the blurriness was gone, and his eyes could focus without causing intense pain to his brain. He could see nothing but a white wall and a man in a white lab coat.

"Don't try to speak," the man ordered him. "It won't work." He leaned over Lile, the tips of his tangled black hair just touching his face.

"When you wake up, it will all be different."


	17. Higher than Hope

Disclaimer: I like my friends from FF7. They give me something to write about. I also like Square Enix, whom they belong to.

Author's Note: I believe we are now getting to the home stretch. There probably won't be more than four more chapters, including this one. I want to keep it 20 chapters or less, if I can manage it, but I don't want to shoot myself in the foot here, so I'll just shut up and let you read.

Chapter 17

Higher than Hope

Midgar was the city of the future.

The Planet had existed for thousands of years, beginning as Spira, before that name was lost to the centuries. Civilization had progressed and regressed so many times that it was difficult to keep track, but ask anyone at the Shinra Corporation, and they would tell you that the Planet was on its way up. It would advance into a new age of technology, surpassing even Spira at its peak.

The Shinra had their headquarters in the Residential Sector of Midgar City. It was meant to be used for housing, but there was only so much space on the Umbrella, the vast steel platform that separated Upper Midgar from the slums below. Most businesses had their buildings in the lower sectors, but the bad air made the Shinra President ill.

That wasn't a problem for Scarlet. She had no desire to drown in the choking sights and smells of the slums. It was bad enough having to work at a desk job. She missed being out on the Overworld, she missed the air and the sky, and she missed being a Turk. There had been so much power in that job. It had seemed like the career for her, until Erika was murdered and Vincent took her place as leader. Scarlet didn't hesitate for a moment to believe that if he go the chance, he would kill her too. He blamed her for the death of his bandit girl, and she had killed Gon…

He had every right to hate her.

She slid into the shiny leather chair that stood behind her desk. There were times, fleeting as they may have been, that she wished she had turned that gun on Erika instead of Gon. But she most often regretted the fact that she hadn't killed Vincent when she'd had the chance. It would have cleared a lot of things up.

With a sigh, Scarlet pulled a large stack of forms toward her, picking up the black pen sitting beside them. HeH

Winter was cold at Fort Condor. The wind attacked like clawing fingers, sending even the most hardy into their Mako heated houses. At least, all of those who could afford to pay the bills the Shinra incorporation imposed for the use of the precious energy.

Deep within the mountain, there was a certain residence that was without heat and light. Above the entrance was a rusted metal pole which once upon a time had held up a wooden sign, proclaiming the name of the best inn in Condor. But now, four months since it had been closed down, the sign was nowhere to be found. Inside the inn was a large assortment of small shapes, all huddled together, trying to glean whatever heat their respective bodies had to offer. There was a fireplace in the back wall, but it had long since burned down, its daily supply of old newspapers, woodchips and twigs exhausted.

Beneath the bar in a very dark corner, sat a girl, barely eleven years old. Her hair might once have been blond, but it was so dirty it looked more grey than anything else. She was dressed in a ragged jacket and a skirt that had been much too long, so she had hacked it off at the ankles, though she hadn't done a very neat job of it. Her shoes had little holes in the soles, and her feet were growing too big for them. Pretty soon she would have to cut open the fronts to give her toes room to breathe.

"Wick!"

Another girl, this one around thirteen, had crawled over and joined her underneath the bar. She had violently purple hair, slightly pointed ears, and only one eye. She had lost the other in a knife fight with two boys, both much older and bigger than she. She had survived. The boys had not. She was known as Patch, for the rolled up scarf she wore tied around her head to hide the empty eye socket.

"Have you had anything to eat tonight?"

Wick shook her head. "I'm not hungry."

Patch looked at her disapprovingly. "Are you worried about that Lile? Don't be, Wick! That kid could charm his way outta anything."

Wick smiled. It was true. Lile was a master of all things secret and unknown. Tiny and soft-spoken, he looked a lot younger than he was. He had really turned eleven a few days ago.

"I'm kinda worried about him," Wick admitted. "I know he disappears sometime, but it's been almos' a week."

Patch offered a hand to pull her up. "Let's go find something to eat." Wick nodded in agreement.

Nobody looked round as they picked their way through the mess of sleeping bodies on the floor. The two girls emerged into the icy tunnels, both of them pretending they weren't cold for the benefit of the other. Wick knew Patch fancied herself the leader when Lile wasn't around; she was the oldest and the toughest. Wick, however, wasn't in the mood to be a follower at the moment. She took point as they paced through the empty inner marketplace, pausing at the wide opening that led to the plateau, where the stalls and shops stood, silent in the still air. There was a large black curtain covering the arch; someone's useless attempt to curtail the normally strong wind, which was oddly nonexistent tonight. Wick pulled an edge of the curtain back, sticking her head out into the open air.

The sight that greeted her was both bizarre and incredible.

The marketplace, which was usually deserted at this hour of the night, was full of people. The bulk of these were dressed in dark blue uniforms, standing in ranks three deep. They were all armed to the teeth with sleek, fancy-looking rifles. Standing at the head of these ranks were four men. One of them was tall and pale with a large quantity of silver hair. He seemed to be deep in conversation with a shorter, darker man in a long red coat. There were two men in black uniforms standing slightly, almost respectfully, behind them.

"What in the bloody the 'ell is 'appening here?" Patch muttered, joining Wick at the edge of the curtain. "Who are they?"

Wick shook her head. She had never seen anything like the four men standing in the front, but she thought she recognized the ranks in the background. They were dressed similarly to the men Lile had been ready to pick-pocket last week, the last time she had seen him. Nervousness spread from her stomach into her throat, making her gasp at the cold air. Patch elbowed her to shut her up. Wick turned to give her a shove, but she was distracted by a sudden movement in the ranks. They were parting. Two of the blue uniforms were coming forward, carrying someone between them. Wick almost screamed when she saw that it was Lile, bound and gagged and seemingly unconscious.

"Stop!" Patch hissed as she tried to struggle forward. "Stop! They'll kill you." Wick obeyed, just watching.

The man with the silver hair was pulling something out of his coat pocket. He was too far away from the girls for them to see make it out clearly. The man in red held up a hand, stopping the first man as he started toward Lile. He looked shocked, his face contorted with what might have been rage, or amusement. The silver-haired man ignored him, approaching Lile, whom the two men had left lying motionless on the cold ground. As he got closer, Wick was able to make out what he was carrying. It was a syringe, similar to the one that a doctor had used to give her a shot, back when she had parents to take her to the doctor. She drew in her breath sharply as he leaned down and speared the needle into Lile's upper arm.

At once, two Uniforms jumped forward to cut the ropes on his hands and untie his gag. They had only just rejoined the ranks, hurrying like they were afraid of something, when Lile's body began to shake. Wick wasn't sure if it was a trick of the light, but his skin seemed to be changing color, turning from pale ivory to a sickly grey color, and then to as black as ink. His hair was growing at an accelerated rate, tangled and ragged. His little hands became claws.

Wick and Patch watched in horror as he sat up, still shivering violently. When he opened his eyes, they could see the orbs of burnished gold they had become. Behind him, Silver Hair snapped a finger. A single flare, rose into the air from the back of the ranks, streaking upwards and exploding high over the Fort. There was a loud clatter and a shout, coming from above them. Evidently, the flare had awoken the night watchmen who were known for sleeping on the job. Wick could hear their feet as they thundered down into the marketplace, freezing at the sight of the Lile-monster. One of them raised his gun, a tiny pistol compared to the guns the people in blue held. He fired, but Lile rolled to the side, moving almost too quick for the eye to catch. Then he charged.

Before Wick had even registered what had happened, the first watchman crumpled to the ground, run through with the monster's clawed hand. The other two froze, and it was upon them in a heartbeat. There was a splatter of crimson as it dived at their throats. Suddenly, a bell began to clang. Evidently there were other watchman, and upon seeing their fellows being gutted, had rung the alarm.

The effect was instantaneous. People began to pour from the various doors leading off into the tunnels, all of them stopping dead at the sight before them. Then the silver haired man said a single word, one that Wick could hear even above the yells of the crowd.

"Fire."

It was as well rehearsed and executed as a dance. Rank after rank, the Uniforms dropped to one knee, aiming their guns at the people in the marketplace. The weapons didn't make any sound, just shot a blast of condensed energy toward whatever target its owner chose. Screams filled the marketplace, screams that seemed to be driving the monster crazy. It ran at the closest living person, claws ripping and teeth snapping.

"Lile!" Wick screamed, unable to restrain herself any longer. "Lile, Lile, stop! Stop! Stop!"

Two people seemed to hear her. The monster, and the man in red. Lile's eyes gleamed at the sight of her, and a wicked grin seemed to spread across his face. Wick found herself unable to move as it bared its teeth and charged. It was barely a foot from her; she could smell the reek of death coming off it in waves. But a second later she found herself lying sprawled on the cold ground.

Slightly dazed, she rolled over. Patch was there. For a moment, she looked like she was staring the monster straight in the eyes, but then Wick saw her cough, blood dripping from her open mouth. She slumped to the ground as the monster drew its crimson-stained claws from her belly.

It turned on Wick. She screamed, too horrified to do anything more. She was going to be killed by Lile, killed by her best friend. But then she felt her body leaving the ground, floating quickly away from the approaching monster. She squirmed in surprise, and realized she wasn't floating, she was being carried. She caught a glimpse of red and felt strong arms gripping her unceremoniously on the waist and shoulder, lugging her like a sack of potatoes.

The man dove into a line of closed stalls, setting her down. He looked at her with wild black eyes. "Run, hide!" he ordered.

Wick didn't move. The sight of the monster that had only a minute ago been her best friend in all the world coming at her kept her rooted to the spot. The man in red cursed, reaching for something in his belt. A black gun was suddenly in his hand. He fired without hesitation. It did as much good as the watchman's guns had done; the monster simply darted to the side. But it did succeed in distracting it from Wick. It turned on the man instead. His black eyes flashed as it charged him to the ground.

Wick screamed. The man was lying on his back. He looked unconscious. The monster bared its fangs, leaning over him, seeking the pulse in his neck. Suddenly, it froze. A low growl issued from its throat and it began to thrash again. The man's eyes had opened. It was only after he had rolled away from the monster that Wick was able to see what had transpired. The man in red's golden claw was slick with dark blood. He stood up, looking at it with disgust.

He turned to her. "Are you hurt?"

Wick shook her head. "Is he…"

"He's dead."

Wick felt tears form in her eyes. The monster's skin began to writhe, and moment later, it was replaced with Lile, his face white and sweat-streaked, clothes dyed crimson. Wick felt the shriek that had been building up inside her escape. It rang out over the marketplace, the howl of a wounded animal.

An instant later the man was beside her, clamping his right (and normal) hand over her mouth. "Shut up!" he hissed. He waited until Wick's breathing became more controlled. "Are you going to scream more?"

Wick shook her head. The man let her go, where she collapsed to the ground, shivering. "Listen to me…" The man leaned down next to her. "My name's Vincent. You can't let them find you." Wick knew he meant the other men, the ones who had attacked her people.

"You're very lucky," Vincent told her seriously, "That I'm more awake today than I usually am." Wick looked at him in confusion. He clutched a hand to his heart. "There's something wrong with me. It controls me sometimes, but this place makes me feel…I don't know, in charge of myself again." He grimaced. "If I was the way I have been lately, I would have let Lile kill you."

"You know Lile?" Wick whispered, fresh tears running down her cheeks.

Vincent nodded, straightening up and adjusting his coat. "Yes, I did. But I can't regret killing him, I can't feel the pain I should. I'm empty. Killing…killing doesn't bother me." His gaze was distant as he said this. His eyes then snapped back to Wick. "Hide, until Soldier is gone."

He left Wick there. There was nothing he could do for her, but that was alright. She was used to it.

* * *

Vincent trudged slowly back to Sephiroth and the Turks. He had just poured out his heart to a child he had never met before. The truth was that there was no one else to tell. Lucrecia would have listened avidly, but whenever he was in the facility the force that held sway over his heart and mind was at its strongest. It whispered false words of contentment and joy. Vincent knew exactly what was happening to him.

He was becoming like Sephiroth.

Seph had been little different than him; a young, kind, slightly naïve boy, Vincent was sure of it. Hojo must have gotten his hands on him, just like he tricked Vincent into the facility. There he had been deformed, defiled, and turned into that cold-hearted killer that now ran Soldier. Vincent was sure he didn't have much time left before he lost himself forever.

All of this continued to ransack his mind as he, Reno, and Tseng boarded the helicopter on their way back to the facility. As usual, the other two said nothing to him, attempting to put as much space between him and them as possible. They were afraid of him; it was an unspoken truth. With nothing to distract him, Vincent slipped deeper and deeper into his depression.

He couldn't run, he knew that. The moment he got away, that horrible false conscience would be upon him again. _Why did you leave your home? _It would ask, _You love your job. You're the Turks leader, you better get your ass back. _And he would, he knew he would. Shinra had screwed him, he was now nothing more than their willing slave. It made him sick.

They only thing that seemed to be real in both of his minds, both of his consciences, was the way he felt about Lucrecia. Ever since that night when Seph's words had compelled him to prove it to her, he had spent all his free time in her presence. He knew that she thought she was too old for him, but was five years really that much of a stretch? His answer was yes, of course it was. But that didn't mean he cared.

* * *

"Sir, I have a request to make you."

Hojo didn't even bother to look up from his work. "Yes my dear?"

Lucrecia took a deep breath. "Sir, I would like to request you curtail all operations in the case of subject 362."

_That_ made Hojo look up. "Valentine, you mean?" He removed his glasses, dropping them onto his desk. He sighed. "Lucrecia, I am curious as to what has provoked this odd attachment."

Lucrecia blinked. Did he know? "S-Sir?"

Hojo rubbed his temples. "You spend more time with Valentine than you do on your work. Tell me, my dear, is there something going on?"

Lucrecia's silence was all the conformation he needed. His hands balled themselves into fists in his coat pockets. "No, I will not cease operations on Valentine. He is one of our most promising subjects. His body doesn't reject the shape-shift. He stays in. Now if you'd excuse me…" Lucrecia left nodded sadly and left.

The moment her clicking heels had faded, Hojo picked up a coffee mug. He hurled it at the wall, where it shattered, bits of porcelain skittering in all directions. He had work to do, but it could wait. Right now, he had a visit to pay.

* * *

Vincent had arrived back in the Labs a little over an hour ago. He had bathed, eaten a bit of something, and was now sitting on the edge of his bed lacing his boots. A knock came on his door. Standing up, he grinned, knowing it could only be one person.

"I was coming to see you-," He froze. It was not Lucrecia. The person outside his door was taller, darker, and much more masculine. "May I help you, Sir?"

Hojo didn't wait for an invitation, but pushed his way into Vincent's room. For a moment, he just stood there, his eyes roving over the un-made bed, small table and lumpy armchair. Suddenly, he lashed out, pinning Vincent to the wall by the throat. Kicking the door shut, he hit him across the face. Vincent slid to the ground, coughing. Hojo was unreasonably strong for a scientist.

"You son of a bitch," Hojo whispered, dragging him up by the shirt and slamming him against the wall again. "How _dare _you touch her? She's mine!"

Vincent didn't need to ask him who he meant. He wiped the blood away from his mouth. "Fuck you," he said. Hojo punched him hard in the stomach. Vincent doubled over in pain.

_Fight back! _His body was urging. _You deserve it, _his mind said.

"Stay away from her," Hojo ordered, his voice low and poisonous.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

It looked like Hojo was about to knock him out, but instead he kissed him, unabashedly, full on the lips.

"Don't lie, you taste like her."

Vincent didn't answer, he was too busy dealing with the fact that a man had just stuck his tongue in his mouth. Hojo, no less. That fact alone made him gag.

"You won't take her away from me. I'll control you, I'll break you." A maniacal grin spread across his face. "Just like I broke my son."

Vincent looked up. "Your son?"

Hojo nodded. "Indeed. I believe the two of you are well acquainted."

All that did was thrust Vincent farther into the dark. First a man kisses him, and know he finds out the psycho has a son? It was too much to handle all at the same time. Hojo left him there, bleeding and exceedingly confused. He slid to the floor, trying to make sense of it all. First off, he wanted to know how Hojo had found out about him and Lucrecia. It wasn't like they went around advertising their relationship.

It hit him like another fist to the side of the head. There was no way Hojo was going to just let this go. He hadn't gone back to his office, he had gone to punish the other perpetrator. Vincent sprang to his feet, ignoring whatever injuries he had sustained. It took him less than a minute to sprint to Lucrecia's room. He threw the door open without knocking. Hojo was there, standing over Lucrecia, who was sprawled on the ground, not moving.

With a cry of rage, Vincent threw himself at him, claw slashing toward Hojo's chest. He ducked, but not fast enough to avoid a slice to the upper arm. The pain didn't even make him wince. He just turned and swept Vincent's legs out from under him.

"You bastard," he gasped, winded.

Hojo smiled as though it was a compliment. He then turned to Lucrecia, who was shaking her head groggily. "I should kill both of you," he spat, his face contorting with rage. "But I doubt the President would appreciate that." He pulled Lucrecia up by the front of her coat. Her face was terrified, but she stared Hojo levelly in the eyes.

"I hate you," she growled.

"Huh," Hojo smirked. "If I were you, my loveI wouldn't speak to me in that manner. Keep in mind, I control whether our son, _your precious boy_, lives."

Lucrecia yelled, struggling to free herself from his grip. "Leave Sephiroth out of this!"

"What?" Vincent stammered from behind the two of them. "Sephiroth?"

Everything was beginning to fall into place, like a pile of bricks. But it wasn't possible. Seph, Lucrecia and Hojo's _son_? He tried to meet Lucrecia's eyes, to ask if it was true, but she was occupied with the man holding her captive.

Vincent jumped to his feet, aiming a kick at the back of Hojo's knee. He pitched forward, releasing Lucrecia. She squirmed away, grabbing the closest thing in reach. She brought a spindly wooden chair down on his head. There was a loud thump and Hojo dropped on the spot.

"Vincent!" She was breathing heavily and her eyes were full of strange fire. "We need to get before he wakes up."

Vincent didn't move for a moment. He was still trying to process what he had just realized. The feeling of Lucrecia's hand on his arm snapped him back to reality. "Let's go," he said.

He had no idea how they could escape, but Lucrecia seemed to know where she was heading, so he just let her lead him. The two of them flew down the bright, lifeless corridors and up two elevators, stopping at a security door. Lucrecia fumbled for her security card, swiping it through the sensor. They were met by a rush of cold air. Vincent didn't recognize the room; he had been unconscious the only time he had entered. Rows of shelves filled to the brim with books hugged the rounded walls. A giant telescope and viewing platform stood in the center of the room, just to the left of a gaping hole in the glass roof.

There had been neither the time nor the money to repair an observatory that hardly anyone used. Lucrecia didn't waste time but began to ascend the ladder to the telescope's platform. Vincent followed, realizing her plan.

"There," Lucrecia said, indicating the gaping hole in the glass. "You can get out that way."

"What?" Vincent asked, "What do you mean 'me'? You're coming too."

He didn't give her a chance to protest. Grabbing her around the waist, he leapt off the platform. Lucrecia screamed as they plummeted down toward the unyielding wooden floor. Vincent tried to empty his mind, focusing on keeping control. They were barely two feet from the ground, when the black feathery wings leapt from his back. He climbed back through the air, streaking out of the jagged hole into the night.

It was freezing outside, but he didn't dare go back. The darkness pressed in like a smothering blanket; it was impossible to see where he was going. If he didn't watch out, he would fly into a mountain peak. Concentrating again, he allowed his eyes to change, slipping from the color of ground coffee to the deep red of fresh blood. It suddenly became much easier to see.

"Hold on tight," he whispered to Lucrecia, swooping down and away from the facility. He didn't know where he was going. It didn't matter, really.

Okay then. We are almost at the end of the fic! Just a couple more chapters to go. I am considering writing a sequel afterwards, to continue Vincent's tale. If you want me to, tell me! Leave me a review, and tell me whether or not I should continue. I appreciate your input.


	18. A History of Violence

Disclaimer: I own not a notion, I escape and fake content, I don't own these characters, I rent.

Author's Note: Thank you for the reviews! It seems like everyone wants me to continue, so I think I will write a sequel once this story is over.

I apologize profusely for the massive delay. I have been drowning in homework, exams, and a huge lack of inspiration. I know this chapter is a little short, but I think the next one will be longer.

Enjoy!

Chapter 18

A History of Violence

If it had been snowing in the mountains, it was nothing to what it was doing farther south. Rain beat the ground like a hundred millions fists, as though it was trying to pound the Planet into something unrecognizable. Rivers overflowed, the ocean surged against the floodgates, and all the creatures of the world withdrew into their holes, thickets, or cottages.

All but two.

Vincent wasn't exactly sure where they were. Most likely, they were still on the Northern Continent, but until the sun rose, he wouldn't be able to tell. He had flown as far as his strength would allow, which hadn't actually been that far, as the driving rain bled his energy out quickly. He and Lucrecia had taken cover in a pine forest, huddling beneath his red coat. The forest was almost as cold as the mountains had been.

Lucrecia hadn't said a word to him. Her back was turned and all Vincent could see was her cascade of silvery hair, a constant reminder of what he had been told back in the facility.

His mind was reeling. There was so much that didn't fit. First of all, Sephiroth was much too old. Even if you ignored that sudden aging of about ten years he had just done over the past few months, he had still been around sixteen when Vincent had met him. Lucrecia didn't look older than twenty-one or twenty-two. And putting that aside, he had always gotten the impression she despised Dr. Hojo. The idea that she had had a child with him was ludicrous at best.

Vincent shivered, trying to ignore the cold. He wanted very much to hold Lucrecia, to comfort her maybe, but he no longer felt like he had the right to. But then again, had he ever?

In the end, it was she who broke the silence.

"They'll be looking for us," she said, without turning around. "Hojo won't give up until we're both dead."

"I know that," Vincent answered.

Lucrecia turned her head. Her eyes were red and puffy, and her expression was close to dead. "I don't know what to do."

"It'll be alright," Vincent muttered, putting an arm around her shoulders. It wouldn't be alright, and they both knew it, but sometimes it's fine to just lie to yourself for awhile.

After a few minutes Lucrecia spoke the words Vincent had been awaiting ever since their flight from the facility.

"I guess you want an explanation."

There were so many things Vincent could have said in response to this, but he didn't want to complicate things anymore; things were already twisted enough.

"If you don't mind," he answered her.

Lucrecia sighed. She stood up, leaving the warm enclosure of the coat, and began to pace. She seemed to want to talk to him, but it was like she couldn't bring herself to do it.

"Come on, Lucrecia. You know I'm listening."

She smiled weakly. She seemed much younger, much more vulnerable than he had ever seen her. She took a deep breath. "I met Hojo when I was seventeen. He was everything a naïve teenage girl could want; smart, handsome, and rich. He was only twenty one and already he had made a huge pile of money working for the Shinra."

"You mean he was already at the facility?"

"No. He was working in Midgar. I was born in the Southern Islands but…" Her eyes unfocused as her mind traveled to days long past. "Midgar was my home. I grew up there. I was a city girl through and through." Vincent smiled to himself. He couldn't see Lucrecia as a city girl in the least. In fact, he couldn't see her as anything but a scientist.

"I started going out with him. Damien Hojo, that was his name. He proposed to me about a year later."

Vincent was aghast. "You _married _him?"

Lucrecia nodded sadly, letting out a sigh that turned to mist the moment it touched the cold air. "Yes, I did. And I had Sephiroth a year after that."

Vincent held his breath. Here it was, he was about to hear what had been going on.

"Sephiroth. It's a strange name, isn't it?"

"I…guess," Vincent shrugged.

Lucrecia smiled slightly. "It comes from ancient Spiran. _Seph _means 'angel', and the term _i-roth _would mean "one wing'."

Vincent thought for a moment, trying to put the words together. "That means Sephiroth is the one-winged angel."

"Precisely."

She said it with a strange assurance, one that made Vincent feel slightly nervous. It looked like the story was costing her a lot to tell. Her face was pale and her eyes were bright. Or it could have just been from the cold.

"What happened next?" Vincent asked.

"Only about a month after Sephiroth was born, Hojo started acting…well, oddly. He had always been far to the left of normal, but he became moody and distant. He seemed to do nothing but work. About a week after I started to notice this, he told me we had to move."

"Move?" Vincent inquired.

"Yes. He told me he had been made the head of some research facility in the northern continent."

"The Facility," Vincent guessed.

"Yes. For a time, it was alright. I worked as a teacher there, training research assistants. I had a degree in genetic science, but Hojo never let me work on any of the projects the facility had running. He wouldn't even tell me what they were. And then I found out why."

She opened her mouth, as though to go on, but nothing came out. Vincent stood up, trying to put a comforting arm around her, but she shrugged him away. "I went back to our room early one day with a headache, and I couldn't find Sephiroth. He was just gone, him and the nurse we hired to take care of him during the day. He was three at the time," she added.

"Where was he?" Vincent asked, though he thought he knew the answer.

"I looked everywhere I could think of, and then I disobeyed Hojo and wandered through the labs." She closed her eyes, as though trying to shut something out. "It was…horrible. There were…things—things that had been done to people there that just…I don't want to remember them."

"You don't have to," Vincent told her.

She smiled. "Yes I do." She swallowed in resignation. "They were awful, but the very worst was…Sephiroth."

* * *

Hojo wasn't letting Lucrecia's betrayal get him down. She would come back, there was no doubt about that. As soon as she realized that boy had nothing to offer her, she would show up at his door. All he had to do was wait; it had worked last time.

And besides, he had more important things to think about than an impudent woman who had hit him over the head with a chair.

The remaining Turks, Reno and Tseng (who had been appointed team leader), and a new girl by the name of Elena, had come to him just a few hours ago.

"Sir," Tseng had begun, edging toward the desk.

Hojo hadn't answered, just stared pointedly at Tseng's coat, which was dripping rainwater onto his carpet. The Turk leader had tossed the coat at Elena and ordered her to take it up to the Turk's quarters. And Elena, who seemed to be enthralled with him, had done what she was told. This had left just Tseng and Reno.

"Sir…I think we have found another candidate for the Jenova project." The tone in his voice had been reminiscent of Erika's, whenever she had had information she knew she would be rewarded for. "There's a boy in Nibelhiem."

Hojo had allowed his interest to show at that point. It was exceedingly unprofessional to show emotion around your underlings, but this was something he had been waiting been for since Valentine's body had rejected the Jenova cells. Hojo had been harboring the hope that Vincent might turn out to be another Sephiroth, but, though he had taken well to the transmutation, things hadn't gone as planned.

"How old is the subject?" he asked Tseng.

"At this point, only thirteen," the Turk answered, "But he won't be difficult to lure here."

"Oh?"

Tseng smirked. "He's another deluded country boy, and every deluded country boy dreams of joining Soldier."

Hojo had dismissed them at that point. He had things to think about.

If this boy was indeed another candidate for the Jenova project, there were certain precautions to be taken. He had made a massive mistake with Valentine. Underestimating his strength of mind had lost him a potential Organic Weapon, Lucrecia, and favor with the President of Shinra. When the experiments began, he would have to do everything in his power to keep the subject subdued.

The name of the little boy from Nibelhiem was slowly circulating through his brain.

_Cloud Strife, Cloud Strife. _The name of salvation?

* * *

The forest was getting colder and colder. Vincent was huddling underneath the dripping tree, clutching his coat around his shoulders. He didn't see how Lucrecia could bear standing there, her arms uncovered. But there was a flush in her cheeks and a fire in her eyes. Her anger was keeping her warm.

"It started with simple mind conditioning," she was saying. "Hojo told me it was nothing, just a study of children's brains. I never believed him for a second. I don't have a PhD for nothing.

"What Hojo was really doing was brainwashing him. By the time he was finished, Sephiroth would no longer remember himself. He wouldn't know Hojo was his father or I was…" She swallowed. "His mother. For the next few months, he was almost completely brain dead. And that's when the physical changes began."

"Didn't you do anything?" Vincent blurted out. He couldn't help it. Everything she was telling him was so absurd. How could anyone let that happen to their own child? For a moment Lucrecia looked at him with something very akin to dislike in her eyes.

"I tried," she told him, her throat harsh. "I tried. At that point I knew Shinra was designing a weapon, and using my son to do it. I protested, fought Hojo on it, but he just became…"

"Mean?" Vincent supplied.

"Viscous. Nothing seemed to matter but his work, turning his son into a monster. Sephiroth began to age at an impossible rate. In just a year, his brain and body were at the maturity level of someone eight years old, though he had only been alive for two."

Lucrecia ran her fingers through her shining hair, finally shivering a bit against the cold. "That was when I finally heard the term Jenova."

"Jenova?" Vincent repeated. It tasted foreign on his tongue, like a term that shouldn't be spoken aloud.

"Do you remember that story I told you about old Spira and the Summoners?"

Vincent nodded, surprised by the sudden turn the conversation had taken.

"The monster, Sin, that was holding them in a constant state of fear. Do you remember it?"

"Yes," Vincent answered again.

"Well, the only way to fight something like that was through the power of an Aeon, a heavenly spirit of power so massive not even something like Sin could stand up to it."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

Lucrecia looked annoyed by his impatience. "Nowadays, on the Planet, those spirits of old are referred to as Ancients."

Vincent gasped. Now those he had heard of. The stuff of legends, the beings that were supposed to have brought the Planet into existence.

Lucrecia nodded at his shock. "Well, Shinra found one."

If Vincent had been surprised, that was nothing to what he was feeling now. "They _found one_?"

"Yes. It was horribly deformed and barely alive, but they found it. Hojo was appointed head of the project to attempt to clone it. He named it 'Jenova'."

"You mean…Sephiroth is a clone?" Vincent asked in confusion.

"Sort of. Real clones are taken from the DNA of an organism and implanted into the womb of a mother of the same species. The resulting child would then be identical to the original subject. Jenova and Sephiroth were different.

"Sephiroth was injected by Jenova's cells, which then merged with his own. He is now immortal, incredibly powerful and agile, and damn near invincible."

"Holy shit…" Vincent mused. "But why is he so…"

"Insane?" Lucrecia asked. "That was a side-effect. The genes that fused with his own have meddled with part of his brain, the part that restrains actions. I see this as horrible, but Shinra sees it as a bonus."

"He's ruthless, that's why, right?" Vincent guessed.

"Yes," Lucrecia answered. "And you were meant to be the same."

"What?" Vincent breathed. The air in the wet forest seemed to have gotten suddenly hot.

"I mean you were meant to be a second weapon. You and Sephiroth were meant to be a team. But it didn't work on you in the same way."

"You mean it turned me into a demon."

"It altered you on another level. You only lose your mind when you change. You're better off, Vincent."

Vincent had no doubt. Realizing what Hojo had originally meant for him when he came to the facility…it made him feel sick. And it made him feel something else.

"This has got to stop," he said, climbing to his feet and letting the coat fall to the moss-covered forest floor. "Shinra has to be shut down. Now."

"We can't do it by ourselves," Lucrecia told him. And she was right. There was no way two people could storm a Shinra facility, even if one of them was an ultra-powerful transforming demon.

"I don't really know anyone…" Vincent began. But then something sprang into his memory. He didn't know what made him think of it, or even if it was a good idea, but it was worth a try

"I think I may have to visit an old friend," he muttered.


	19. Walking in the Air

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the ff7 characters, got that bitch?

Author's Note: Okay, so I lied. This isn't going to be the last chapter, there's going to be at least one more after this. There's just too much to squeeze into so few pages.

And once again I know it took forever and a piece of wood to get this up, and once again I apologize. Between school, my book, and all the odd vacations I've been taking, I haven't had much time for this fic. It makes me sad, but here it is finally!

Chapter 19

Walking in the Air

Cid Highwind poked at the fire with a long, soot-blackened staff that had only last night been half of the best spear he had ever owned. At times there seemed to be very little point in defending this tiny settlement that had never even been important enough to have a name. The monsters that prowled the Overworld had tried countless times to turn it into yet more of their ever-expanding territory. He had broken his spear over the spiky back of a slimy green lizard that had slipped in close. He would have to make another one as soon as possible.

He couldn't really recall the chain of events that had led him here; on an empty beach, staring off into a violet sunset. The empty huts behind him had fallen into shadow, their blank doors and windows like gaping mouths in the darkness. The town had been cleared out by the Shinra in order to make room for a reactor, but as of yet nothing was being destructed. All of those lives had been destroyed for nothing. That was the Shinra's trademark.

Some would say Cid's life had barely begun, but at twenty he felt like he had seen it all. War, pain, suffering, salvation, and the gut-wrenching reality of salvation betrayed had wrought lines in his young face that made him look years older than he was.

Sighing, he lay back in the sand, the sunset glowing against his closed eyes. The sound of the waves must have lulled him to sleep, because the next thing he knew, someone was shaking him by the shoulder. He slithered away roughly, grasping for the spear that he knew wasn't there. There were two of them, two sons of bitches sneaking up on him when he was asleep. Sand sprayed out in all directions as he struggled to his feet, preparing to fight with just his fists if he had to. But as his eyes suddenly focused on the face staring back at him, he paused.

"Hey," he grunted, narrowing his eyes. "I know you."

The man looked relived. He had his hands up, as though he was ready to defend against an imminent attack. The woman standing behind him looked fairly alarmed, her long silver hair fluttering in the stiff sea breeze.

"It's good to see you still alive, Cid," the man said.

Cid laughed suddenly, offering a hand as it finally came to him. Of course, the two travelers he had flown to Costa del Sol barely five months ago. It was strange, this man was the one, he had the same red coat and tangling black hair, but he had been a boy back then, as green as you could get. Now, something in his gaze had hardened, as though those crow-black eyes of his had seen something no eyes should.

"Vincent, wasn't it?" Cid asked.

The man smiled. "I'm glad you're alive. We kind of desperately need your help."

Cid raised an eyebrow. "What can I do for you and your pretty woman?"

* * *

Hojo was feeling something he wasn't used to. All of his life he had had the gift of being able to bury emotion underneath layers and layers of repression. It was the only way to do a job like his. But currently, standing outside the president's office in Midgar, waiting to be received, he was feeling something sharp and sickening.

Fear. Foreboding. Anxiety. Things that he would normally never even let near his conscious. They were unfounded; the president didn't scare him. How could anyone be scared of the roly-poly fumbling excuse for a man? Hojo had never been able work out how someone so incompetent had been able to take leadership of the closest thing the Planet had to a government. The president was practically a dictator; not a job for the faint of heart. And not someone you wanted angry with you. But regardless of this, Hojo knew the President would never do anything to harm him.. He was too valuable to Shinra's forays into the less desirable parts of science, the gaining of organic-human-weapons. For that is what every great empire wants. Power, and a way to keep its claws buried in the power indefinitely.

No, it was not himself that Hojo was afraid for. It was—

"The president will see you now, sir." Hojo was interrupted mid-thought. A secretary was holding the door open for him. He vacated the leather-clad chair he had been reclining in, following her past a security desk and two armed guards to a set of double-doors. He pushed his way past the secretary and opened the door himself.

The president was sitting behind his gleaming wooden desk, a grin on his round face. His suit was dark and spotless, his tie the color of dried blood. The huge office was free of the clutter that filled Hojo's to the brim. The president indicated a chair.

"I have called you here in person," he began as Hojo sat down, "To inform you of my disappointment at our recent failures."

Hojo's eyes flashed coldly. Anyone with any survival instincts would have backed off then and there, but the president of the Shinra was accustomed to being revered. He never would have imagined the positions reversed.

"Why is that, Sir?" Hojo asked, putting just enough emphasis on the word 'sir' that the president wouldn't be able to tell if he was being insulting or not.

The man folded his meaty hands. "The botched mission to Falcon for a start." He glanced casually at a open file on his desk. "I understand one of the specimens was killed…shot by another subject we have been pouring money into. Is that correct."

"It is, Sir."

The president was getting into his stride. "Yes, and it seems that same subject escaped the facility only two days ago, kidnapping a scientist in the process."

Hojo didn't blink. "I will find them. It won't be difficult."

The president shook his head. "No."

"Excuse me?"

"You're mind conditioning procedures may have worked on…what do you call him…that _Sephirath._"

"Sephiroth," Hojo corrected him, his voice low and poisonous.

"Yes, him. As I was saying, the procedures may have worked on him, but they are obviously not working on the demon boy. He is a dangerous liability, and his body isn't even compatible with the Jenova cells. He is useless to me. I want him disposed of."

Hojo's heart suddenly began to beat faster. "What?"

"When you find him, kill him. That is all."

* * *

"That's quite a tale, kid."

Cid had brought them back to the hut where he hung his hat. But for the makeshift fireplace and pile of blankets, it resembled every other building in the crumbling town. The roof was partly open to the elements, but this region of the Planet was mild, even in the winter. Vincent had sat down on the only small section of floor that wasn't damp with mildew, Lucrecia beside him, while Cid had crouched by the wall.

"It's all true," Vincent told him. "Everything."

Cid's eyes didn't leave the fire. "So, that girl…Kai. She's dead?"

Vincent nodded, trying and failing to keep emotion away from his face. He was acutely aware of Lucrecia beside him, though he didn't dare look at her.

"And you're a demon now?"

Vincent almost laughed. It sounded so ridiculous. "Sometimes. It happens whenever I'm angry and…I can barely control it."

Cid let out a long whistle, shaking his head. "All sounds kinda doubtful to me." He tossed another piece of driftwood onto the fire. "But then again, what does a hick like me know?"

"So then you'll help us?" Lucrecia asked.

Cid looked up, his eyes rather wild. "I love the idea of dealin' some death to the Shinra, but what the hell could I do?"

"A lot," Vincent told him. "We need transport to Midgar City."

Cid, who had just taken a swig out of a tinted blue bottle, choked, spitting it out on the fire. It flared up, almost catching Lucrecia, who had stood up just then.

"Why the hell do'ya wanna go somewhere like that?"

"We want an audience with the president," Lucrecia said rather gruffly, feeling her slightly singed eyebrows. "The experiments on…people. They need to stop." She looked away. So far, both she and Vincent had avoided serious mention of Sephiroth. They had spoken of him like he was nothing but a passing character in a different story.

"What makes ya think the president'll talk to ya?" Cid wanted to know. "There ain't any way he's gonna care what you have to say."

Vincent picked up the bottle from where Cid had dropped it onto the sandy floor. "I don't think you understand. We're not going _ask. _We're going to _tell. _And if not…"

"What?"

Vincent took a swig form the bottle. It burned all the way down. "Then I'll tear him apart."

Cid leaned back, looking appeased. Lucrecia too seemed impressed by his bold words, but if Vincent seemed confident it was only a ruse to mask the mounting sense of dread he had felt since they left the facility. His intuition was telling him things wouldn't go at all well, and, as he had learned those past few months, his intuition was usually correct.

He had no doubt he _could _tear the president apart. It was just the simple matter of becoming angry enough to change, and put in a room with the head of the Shinra, that wouldn't be a problem. The real difficulty of the matter lay in reaching the man, and what may lie beyond. Vincent felt no misgivings about his plans to murder someone. It didn't even occur to him that it might be wrong. The old him might have been concerned, but the new wouldn't even pause. Even so, the threat of who might take the president's place was a worry.

But they would burn that bridge when they came to it.

Cid let them stay in the hut, muttering something about liking to sleep out in the open. Vincent and Lucrecia sat side by side, not speaking, watching as the fire died. It didn't make any sense to dwell too much on the past or future, but there they were, both of them, tangled up in their own confusing thoughts.

Vincent was thinking back to Kalm village. He wondered if his mother was doing alright and if the town had been rebuilt. The visions of his father and Gon lying dead in the mud swam in front of his eyes. Had they been buried in the little cemetery outside the chapel no one had worshiped at for years? Some of the gravestones there were so old all the writing had faded away, and some of the epitaphs were in a script no one had ever been able to read. Vincent could only imagine that they were in old Spiran.

He glanced at Lucrecia, sitting next to him so silently. How was she feeling, he wondered, about taking on her former employers? Was she wondering perhaps, whether they would run into Hojo along their way? And what of Sephiroth? Vincent didn't have the answers. He didn't know of anyone who did.

He inched closer to her, wrapping his arms around her tentatively. She didn't pull away, but laid her head on his chest. "I'm scared, Vincent," she muttered quietly. "I don't know if I've ever been this scared in my life. Not at the facility, not with…him."

"It's alright," Vincent told her. Why couldn't he ever come up with something better to say? _It's alright. _It was never alright. Nothing ever was, and nothing ever could be.

He sighed. Lucrecia glanced up at him. "What's wrong?"

Vincent shook his head. "There's nothing…uhhggh. I don't know. I still can't get over it—_you and Hojo_?"

Lucrecia laughed bitterly. "Does that bother you?"

"Yeah, sort of."

She sat up. The fire was shining on her hair, turning it from steel to copper. She was so beautiful it made Vincent shiver. "So much that you don't want to have anything to do with me?" She was smiling slyly, like she knew something he didn't.

"Yep, I can't stand you," Vincent laughed, pulling her closer. "You make my skin crawl."

"Really?" Lucrecia asked, turning and kissing him on the neck.

"Yeah, you're sickening, you—ow! You don't have to bite me!"

Lucrecia giggled. She pushed his tangled hair out of his face. "Come on, tough guy. You're a demon thing, don't be a wimp."

"Wimp?" Vincent demanded, feigning offense. "I am _not _a wimp."

Lucrecia slipped from his arms. She narrowed her eyes. "Prove it."

* * *

Vincent stretched out beside the fire, utterly exhausted. It had burned down substantially; it was now just a glowing mound of blackened wood. The night was quiet, save for the sound of Lucrecia's breathing. He was feeling extremely sleepy and relaxed, the nervous tension in his muscles eradicated.

"I feel better," Lucrecia spoke up, wiping the sweat from her brow with the back of her hand.

"I'm glad I could help."

She smiled. "Maybe now we can sleep."

Vincent's thoughts turned back to what tomorrow promised to bring. "I doubt it. But it doesn't matter. Tomorrow, we're shutting the Shinra Labs down. For good."

Vincent did sleep, but it was a light sleep, troubled by worrying dreams. One seemed to slide into the other, never close enough to comprehend. But there was one thing he saw that he did understand, something he hadn't seen in a long time.

He was standing on a warm stone floor, wind gripping his clothes and swirling his hair. There was someone standing a few paces from him. She was staring off over an expanse of clear water that never seemed to end. Vincent wanted her to turn around, he wanted her to see him, but somehow he couldn't make his limbs move. He was rooted to the spot.

A fierce wind seemed to be creeping up on the girl. It lifted her crimson mane of hair and sent ripples across the surface off the water. Slowly, agonizingly, she turned her head toward him. The familiarity of that face hit Vincent like a physical blow, sending him toppling from the dream. He awoke in the little hut in the town by the beach. The smell of a fire long dead hung in the air and the sound of Lucrecia's breathing filled his ears. He went back to sleep.

* * *

The sky had grown dark. Only a few minutes ago, however, it had been washed with red, a perfect mirror of the carnage below it. The Overworld was strewn with bodies, some of them human, some of them monster. They covered the ground for nearly fifty meters, dirtying the grass of an already dirty world.

Sephiroth stood in the center of it all, wiping his blade clean. On his was to one of the Shinra field offices, he had come across a caravan of rovers, gypsies they might have been. They had been under the attack of an insurmountable force of monsters and they had called to Sephiroth, pleading for his help. Well, he had killed the monsters, but there was human blood on his blade as well.

It wasn't something he could control. When he killed, he killed everything. That was just the way he had been made, the way he was programmed.

He slid his sword home, turning his back on the dead.

* * *

Two Weeks Later

Nothing was going to stop him. Nothing. He could feel it in the blood that coursed through his veins, smell it in the air. The day the Shinra had placed Vincent Valentine on their radar was the day they had signed there own death warrant. He took a deep breath, savoring the smell of the sea air. Flying was the most amazing feeling in the world, and now that he could control his transformation, make it happen in stages, it was a feeling that was within his grasp.

He and Lucrecia had spent the last week and a half in Cid's abandoned coast village. Vincent had wanted to leave for Midgar right away, but the other two had held him back, saying he was still too week to attempt anything more intensive than a casual walk along the beach. And Cid had needed a few days to get together the things they would need. After all was said and done, Vincent's brilliant plan was shaping up to be pretty pricy, but as Cid said, if it worked they wouldn't have to worry about money, and if it didn't, well, they would be dead, and the dead didn't have living expenses.

So Vincent had spent the last week or so discovering the extent of the changes the Mako had wrought in his genetic makeup. He was stronger and faster, and of course he turned into a demon when he lost his temper, but the changes were underneath the surface as well. It wasn't exceedingly apparent, but his personality had received a massive alteration. Once upon a time he had been a boy, a child. Now, just a few months later, he felt years and years older. Even away from Shinra and their mind control he found himself looking inward; spending minutes at a time just staring into space. He could tell from Lucrecia's face that this worried her, but she didn't comment on it, so neither did he.

One evening when the wind had been blowing hard from off the sea, he had flown again. He found that if he focused enough on a certain thought, he could keep himself grounded enough to stop the changes at wings, and not turn into a fully-fledged monster. But this presented new problems; the dreams he was having for one thing. They were dreams were of things passed, old memories resurfacing. For the thing he focused on when he flew was Kai.

It wasn't that he felt guilty, thinking about her. If anything, the memory of her made him feel safe, as though he was looking through a window into something warm and familiar. It was just distracting, that was all. And, considering his ultimate goal, it wouldn't do well to get distracted.

Vincent shook himself. There he was again, drifting off into thoughts of the past. He had to focus on not running into the bird he was currently flying next to. And he had to recall the exact specifications of the plan he, Lucrecia, and Cid had mapped out the previous evening.

He was on his way to Midgar right now, and somewhere behind him Cid and Lucrecia were following at a slower pace. It was a simple plan, but one in which a thousand things could go wrong. And if anything did go wrong, they were all dead.

* * *

Several Hours Later

"I hope Vincent's alrigh'," Cid commented, shuffling his feet anxiously. "He should've contacted us by now."

Lucrecia paused in the tying up of her hair. "You don't have to worry about him. He has a habit of taking care of himself."

Cid shrugged, still looking uncomfortable. "Doesn't matter. Guy just flies of toward the Shinra building…it's unbelievably dangerous there. And then there's the flying. I'm never gonna get used to that."

"Don't be concerned with him. What I'm worried about are these." She held up two shining Ident. Cards. "Are you sure they're gonna work?

Cid snatched one from her indignantly. "How rude. These little babies are the best pieces of crime money can buy. There ain't no one out there who can tell them from the real thing."

_I certainly hope so, _Lucrecia couldn't help thinking as she and Cid donned their silver vests. They signified them as Annalists, low-level workers who performed Shinra's more menial tasks. Grunts, really. Lucrecia was not proud to be wearing the uniform, but it was probably the easiest way to get inside the building. Masquerading as higher level partners would be too risky, as the guardsmen would probably know all of them by face, and workmen or janitors would require a credentials check. Grunts were the way to go.

Cid was peering out of the tinted windows of the van they had rented. They were parked just off the street that housed the famous Shinra building. No one was allowed to park anywhere near it without official business, something they didn't have.

"We should go before it gets too late," Lucrecia advised. "It's almost the end of these guard's shift. They'll be tired and bored and won't care too much about who goes through."

"Right behind you," Cid chirped.


	20. A Little Piece of Humanity

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters of FF7, but I do own your mom.

Author's Note: Once again, I apologize most profusely for the massive delay in getting this out there. I've been buried under homework and I'm involved with my school's musical, which means the majority of my weekends and afternoons are taken up with singing show tunes written in the 40's.

Anyway, this is the final chapter of Genetically Altered, and I hope you like it. There will be a sequel, but it might take a little while to get up.

Chapter 20

A Little Piece of Humanity

The Shinra building was unlike anything Cid Highwind had ever seen in his life. A man from very humble beginnings, he had always felt rather overwhelmed by any displays of wealth and power. But this…this was beyond wealth. This was beyond power. This was supreme monarchy, utter dictatorship.

This was the construct of a tyrant.

The moment you entered the front doors, two sheets of impossibly thick, bullet-proof glass, the feeling you didn't belong hit. And it hit everyone, from the lowliest office scrub to the highest officer of Soldier. No one belonged in the Shinra. It in itself was a living, breathing entity, a creature of untold size and brutality.

A creature Cid soon hoped would be writhing in pain.

The great marble entrance hall looked like it belonged in a palace rather than an office building. It was huge, echoing, and empty, except for the long reception desk at the opposite end. On the right wall was a row of elevators, tiny lights above them representing the phenomenal number of floors. Seven of these elevators were meant for public use, though the public didn't appear to be using them at the moment. The eighth elevator was slightly different. Sleeker, more high-tech looking. Cid supposed it was meant for the President and his cabinet.

"May I help you?"

The receptionist's voice rang out across the empty hall, the echoes giving it an eerie quality. A ghost calling out to them. "The building isn't open to the masses until four o'clock in the afternoon. You're six hours early."

Cid didn't know how to answer. In a fight with a man standing right in front of him, he was invaluable. In a job that required finesse, Cid was sadly lacking. He was saved, however, by the woman standing beside him.

"Do we look like the masses to you?" Lucrecia asked, her footsteps reverberating off the walls as she crossed the floor toward the desk.

The receptionist narrowed his eyes. He was a small, rather arrogant looking man with pinched features and a mop of curly red hair. His clothes, however, were the finest money could buy.

"No, you look like scum to me. Or at least—," the man glanced at Cid, "That one does."

Cid gave an angry twitch, but Lucrecia held up a hand. "We have a delivery for the science offices."

The receptionist glared at them for a few more moments, then turned to his computer and tapped a couple of keys. "Serial number?" he asked testily.

"6243—,"

"Luc…" Cid muttered out of the corner of his mouth, "What are you doing?"

"—456. Wait! That's not it, that was our last delivery!" Lucrecia made a big show of searching through her white uniform looking for something. "I seem to have misplaced it." She looked at Cid. "Do you have it, Joe?"

"Uh, I think I got it here somewhere…" Cid mumbled, finally catching on. All they had to do was buy Vincent time to attack the security booth on the thirtieth floor. The problem was this obnoxious receptionist. If he happened to glance at one of the monitors behind him, the one showing the thirtieth floor, there whole brilliant plan would explode into tiny pieces.

"Yeah, it's right here," Cid said, pulling out something and cupping it in his hand so the receptionist wouldn't notice it was a candy wrapper. "It's, 456." The receptionist tapped it into the computer. "And?"

"Huh?"

"Read the rest of it, _Joe_," Lucrecia said, elbowing him in the ribs.

"Oh, yeah. Uh, 34567—,"

Just then, the monitors behind the desk flickered.

"Shit," the receptionist cursed unceremoniously, turning and tapping one of the screens with his knuckles. Lucrecia turned her head a fraction of an inch. She winked. That was all the signal Cid needed.

"Sorry man," he said, striking a fast blow to the back of the receptionist's head. He crumpled on the spot, just as the security monitors went completely to static.

"You didn't kill him, did you?" Lucrecia asked, only sounding mildly concerned.

"No," Cid answered, leading the way to the elevators. "He'll wake up wit' one hell of a headache. Which one'a these things do we wanna use?"

He gestured at the long row. There were only lights on above seven of them, adding their glow to the brilliantly Mako-lit lobby. It all made Cid feel slightly nauseous. The entire city reeked of that energy, the very life blood of the Planet, pumped out for the human race's own ends.

"We're traveling in style," Lucrecia told him, stepping up to the VIP elevator. Slipping a pale hand into her coat's pocket, she drew out a silver card. She slid it through the elevator's. "Lets just hope they haven't revoked my clearance."

"They do that to deserters?" Cid asked.

"That," she answered, "And kill them in some indescribably painful way." Cid couldn't tell if she was kidding or not.

The censor gave off a quiet beep, the little light turned green, and the gilded doors glided open with an electronic hiss. The interior was small and brightly lit. Mirrors covered the walls, bouncing their reflections back and forth infinitely. Cid took a moment to study himself in the glass. He looked so odd, standing there in his patched trousers and weather-bleached coat, beside a woman like Lucrecia. Her beauty was icy cold, but it was there nonetheless. At times she looked like a goddess of winter, silver hair and eyes hung with icicles. Cid wondered for about the eightieth time how Vincent could have ended up with a woman like her. That little bandit, Kai, she had seemed better suited for him. Shit, she had been in his age range, at least.

"What floor is it?" he asked her.

"Sixtieth."

He pressed the little gold button and the elevator began its long journey upwards, gliding effortlessly along the cables, pushed along by modern technology. It was incredible that this building had everything, air conditioning, electricity, and more power than it knew what to do with, while at the same time there were places on the Planet that didn't even have drinkable water.

It was disgusting.

"I hate this place," he commented, tapping his foot on the tiled floor of the elevator.

Lucrecia gave a humorless laugh. "I've worked for the Shinra for five years. I've felt nothing but loathing for them for the last three."

"Really. What happened to ya to make ya feel tha' way?"

"Nothing," Lucrecia answered, angling her body away from him. He could tell from her expression in the mirror that he had asked the wrong question.

"So…uh, what're we doing when we get up there?" he asked, trying to get her mind off what had just tumbled out of his mouth a moment ago.

"We're joining Vincent. He should be in there by now."

"Shit, I hope he hasn't done anythin' too hasty."

"Oh," Lucrecia said, smiling knowingly. "I'm sure he has."

* * *

Vincent waited until he saw the security camera's lights flicker and die. He was perched on the president's balcony, sixty stories above the street, his wings folded behind his back. He hadn't let them disappear completely, in case he needed to make a quick getaway. The reassuring weight of his gun was sitting in the pocket of his coat, ready for action, but he doubted he would need it. He now almost had complete control over his transformations. There would be nothing to stop him from ripping the president apart, if it came to that.

He really hoped it would.

He let himself in through a window. Once inside, he realized the president's office wasn't as much an office as it was a penthouse. He seemed to have emerged into the living room. Vincent opened one of the doors, which led into a purely white-carpeted hall. He wrinkled his nose. It all seemed a little too pure for the CEO of Shinra. A little too pure for him to walk on as well.

The penthouse was huge. Vincent spent a good part of five minutes wandering from room to room, with no particular idea where he was going. But he knew it when he had reached the main office of Shinra's president. A pair of double doors stood at the end of a long white hall that all other parts of the penthouse seemed to converge to.

Vincent took a deep breath, willing his wings to their largest form in order to make an impression. He was sure he would make even more of one if he walked in their in full demon mode, but he wasn't sure if his vocal cords worked when he was in that form. Taking a deep breath, he threw the doors open.

The office inside was big, much bigger than Hojo's back in the facility. It was clean and organized, too, with barely a piece of paper or writing utensil in sight. The huge shiny-topped desk seemed to be more meant to make an impression than serve as a workspace.

And behind that desk sat the leader of the Shinra Corporation.

He was nothing like Vincent had expected. When he'd imagined of the head of the company that had ripped his life asunder he had always visualized a tall, raven-haired man with a cape and squinty eyes. Maybe even a top hat. This man was middle-aged, fat, and looked less like a villain than Vincent himself.

"Welcome, Mr. Valentine," the man said.

Vincent blinked. "You know me?"

The president nodded, a demure smile on his face. "Of course I do. You've caused my company all kinds of grief. Not to mention all kinds of money. I was expecting you."

Vincent couldn't help himself. "How?" he asked.

The president indicated the little black phone sitting at his elbow. "I have my own personal, _silent,_ alarm set up, not connected with the main security system. Whatever your accomplices may have done, I assure you, it has done no good. When you entered the building, this," he tapped the phone, "Lit up. Useful little gadget, wouldn't you say?"

Vincent didn't answer. He refused to be made fun of by this man, the man to whom everything could be attributed to.

"I'm here to kill you," he growled.

"I've no doubt," the president answered, resting his hands on his large belly. He didn't seem unduly worried. "I can only imagine that you hate me…"

"Sure as hell I do," Vincent answered, advancing on the desk. The President's eyes, he noticed, were on his wings, rising up behind him as his emotion heightened. "You killed my family and my friends, you turned me into a freak, and you're destroying the Planet-,"

"No, no, no, you don't understand, Vincent," the President interrupted, shaking his head in an almost fatherly way. "That doesn't concern me. My interest lies in the continuity of this corporation. And if that means making sacrifices, so be it."

Vincent fought harder than he ever had in his life to contain the rage that was flowing through him. "Kai-wasn't-a-sacrifice," he managed to gasp out, his fists clenching and unclenching.

"Ah yes, Kai. That little Mirad girl, am I right? I read that mission report. Erika killed her, did she not? Right in front of you? Most unfortunate."

"Go to hell!" Vincent screamed, his rage getting the better of him for a moment. He could feel the demon fighting to escape the restraints he had it under. Either the president was extremely brave, mocking him like this, or he was incredibly stupid.

"Why did you come here exactly?" the fat man asked, flicking at a speck of non-existent dirt on his suit jacket.

"To order you…" Vincent took a deep breath. "To order you to stop the experiments your doing on human beings! On people like Seph!"

"Seph?" The president furrowed his brow. "Ah, yes! Sephiroth! One of Dr. Hojo's great triumphs! Mores the pity he couldn't have triumphed in the same way with you."

_Triumph? _Vincent couldn't believe this man. Here he was, saying to his face that human life did not matter at all to him, that all that mattered was the prosperity of his cancer of a business.

With effort, he kept himself restrained. He couldn't think of anything to say. The president seemed to have forgotten he was there; he was currently sifting through a pile of files, the only things on the desk besides the alarm phone.

"Here we are," he said cavalierly, looking up again, fat chin wobbling. "One of the latest mission reports from Reno and Tseng, two gentlemen I'm sure you're well acquainted with." Vincent glared.

"Ahem. Yes. They spent a little time in Kalm Village last week…"

Vincent twitched. He didn't like to hear the name of that place.

"So tell me, Vincent," the president said, "Have you seen your mother lately?"

It was like the bottom had dropped out of his stomach, like there was ice spreading through his insides.

"You didn't…you….no."

The president's eyes told the rest of the story. "There was some trouble in that town. The Turks went out to deal with it. Unfortunately, your mother was one of the casualties."

The anger inside him was bubbling hot, and threatening to boil over. He knew if he let himself go, there would be no going back. He would kill this man, and probably everyone in the building.

But what did he care?

All at once, he gave into the rage coursing through his blood. There was a sort of explosion inside him, and suddenly Vincent was no longer standing in the president's office. He had been replaced with the demon, red eyes glowing, skin black as ink, teeth bared in a never-ending snarl. His human consciousness was slipping away, and he let it go.

It was at that moment Cid and Lucrecia burst their way into the office.

"Ah, shit!" Cid yelled. He had never witnessed his friend's fabled transformations before, and he watched in terrified fascination as Vincent began to change before his very eyes. His skin changed from an unhealthy pale to oil black and his human hand elongated into a claw to match his other. The great feathery wings that sprung from his back were growing even bigger, as Vincent's anger intensified.

The president looked dumbfounded, his eyes growing wide as coins. He seemed to be trying to make himself seem as small as possible, though that was no mean feat. Vincent bared his fangs, giving of a barking growl as he leered at the terrified man. He was planning to kill him; there was no doubt about that.

"Vincent, no!"

The demon stiffened. Lucrecia had stepped in front of Cid. Her face was flushed and though fear danced in her eyes, she held her ground as it turned to face her instead of the President.

"This isn't the way to do this!" she insisted, staring into the twin red orbs. "If you kill him, someone worse will take his place, you know that!"

Vincent sniffed. He knew it.

He just didn't care.

* * *

The wailing sound of the alarm shattered the tranquility of the residential sector of Midgar City. All up and down the road people leaned out of windows, gazing out across their impeccably trimmed front lawns to where the Shinra building thrust its way into the sky like a mountain of steel and glass. No one knew what the sound was, no one had ever heard it before. Shinra had never had an emergency worth its use.

But there was one solitary soul who did recognize the sound. He was at the time sitting on a balcony overlooking one of the city's sweeping parks. The grass was so green there and the trees were so huge that at times it was easy to forget that just fifty feet below thousands of people lived in squalor and filth. Dr. Hojo never let his mind stray to those people. They weren't any of his business.

But the wailing of the Shinra alarm certainly was. He knew them all by sound, and this was the one that spoke of the most dire of situation. Security had been overtaken. The building had been breached.

Though the Shinra headquarters was over five blocks away, Hojo thought he had a pretty decent idea of what had triggered it. A certain dark-haired, red-eyed, feathery-winged demon.

Lucrecia's prince.

Hojo leaned against the cast-iron railing, letting the sound of the alarm wash over him like cold water. It was in his job description as a Shinra employee to respond to any emergency as quickly as possible, but he had a burning desire to just sit back and watch events unfold. Given a few hours, it was a fair bet Vincent could have the place tumbling down around their ears. Those physical modifications were enough to lay anything to waste, provided Vincent allowed his emotions to get the best of him. And considering the minimal levels of control he'd displayed back at the lab, Hojo was sure it was only a matter of time.

He heaved a sigh. He would go in to pick up the pieces when the smoke cleared. That was the job of a scientist, wasn't it? Observing from the sidelines, doing what he could, but never putting himself in the line of fire. It was a good philosophy.

It's what had kept Hojo alive all these years.

* * *

The office was shrinking. Or maybe Vincent was growing larger. His presence seemed to be taking up all the air in the room, driving Lucrecia and Cid against the wall. The feathery mass that were his wings had unfurled, casting dancing shadows on the walls.

The president was still in his chair, not moving an inch. For some reason, he didn't seem unduly worried. This was odd, as he was sitting across a desk from a clawed, wild-eyed, pissed-off demon child. Vincent raised his metal arm, striking a blow that could have laid out an elephant. But a moment later his shriek of anger echoed through the office. The president was still perfectly alive, and smiling now. But Vincent's claws hadn't missed him. Indeed they had gone right through him and were now thrust into the upholstery of his high-backed chair.

The president grinned, staring down at the arm that was protruding from his chest.

"Yes, I imagined you'd become homicidal after I informed you of the late passing of your mother." He shook his head reprovingly. "Really, Mr. Valentine, you should know better. Why would the leader of the most prestigious company in the world put himself in harm's way? I use a hologram for every meeting."

Vincent just snarled. It wasn't fair. He couldn't reach the president, he couldn't kill him, couldn't make him pay for all the pain he'd caused him and the rest of the Planet.

It was at this point that he lost complete control of his mind and body. His consciousness seemed to be drifting away from that office in Midgar city, drifting away from the very Planet. He had become pure energy, flowing along toward…

"Wake up, you."

Vincent rolled over. A face swam into focus, looking down at him reprovingly. He rubbed his eyes, trying to make sure he was really seeing what he thought he was seeing.

"Kai?"

The face smiled. "Honestly, I thought you were going to sleep all day."

Vincent sat up. He knew this place. It was the little cave in the Mithril Mines, the one he had first awoken to Kai in. But this didn't make any sense. He wasn't here, he was in the Shinra building in Midgar.

"What's going on?" he asked.

Kai shrugged, sitting down beside him on the bed. "We're in your head, stupid. Don't you know anything?"

Vincent smiled at the familiarity of her tone. "I guess I don't. But why are we in my head?"

"You're consciousness ran and hid from what's happening outside it," Kai answered. She reached out and brushed a hand through Vincent's hair. "You look nice."

Vincent snorted. "Yeah, four months in a research facility does a lot for your figure."

"I don't want to hear about it," Kai said, her smile suddenly drooping. "And you don't want to tell me about it."

"No, I don't," Vincent agreed, reaching out and taking her hand. "I want—,"

"I know what you want," Kai said. "I want it too." Slowly, she drew her hand away. "But this isn't the time for twisted fantasies." She winked. "Besides, I'm not even real. It'd be like screwing yourself."

"You sure sound like Kai," Vincent muttered, disappointed.

The Kai in his head grinned. "I know. But I'm not. I'm just here to tell you that you gotta be strong like I know you can be. Believe me, you're gonna need it when you get back out."

"Alright," Vincent said, "But can I at least kiss you?"

Kai stepped back, out of his reach. "Why torture yourself?" She was moving farther and farther out of his reach. All the color was beginning to drain from the cave walls, and from Kai herself. The last thing Vincent remembered seeing was one last wink from her now grey eyes.

He awoke on the cold, hard floor.

Every inch of his body ached like it had been run over by a tank. His torpid mind felt sick and hazy, unable to analyze the images his eyes sent it fast enough. One thing he did seem to comprehend was that he was a human again, and that he was bleeding. There was blood all over the white tiled floor, glistening in the brutal overhead lights. Vincent suddenly became aware of a piercing alarm that seemed to come from everywhere all at once. It made his headache even worse.

"Stand up, you useless piece of flesh."

Vincent winced. It wasn't the words, but the tone of the voice that said them. It dripped with every kind of disdain known to mankind, and it was the one voice Vincent was aware of that could send fear shooting through every inch of him.

Dr. Hojo squatted down beside him. Reaching out, he stroked his head with a heavy hand, making the pain in Vincent's head incredible.

"Get…off," he growled, trying to string the two words together.

"Why should I?" Hojo asked, his tone patient, as though dealing with an impudent youngster. "Are you going to kill me if I don't?"

"No." The word came out before Vincent stopped to consider it. If Hojo kept it up, he probably would kill him. Of course, he could barely move his big toe at the moment.

"No? What about the rest of the people in the building? You killed them."

The words slid into Vincent like winter. "W-Who?" he asked.

Hojo sat back on his haunches, pushing his hair out of his face. "Well, not the person you came to kill. The president's alive and well. I find it funny that someone as," he paused. "_Advanced _as you would fall for a trick like that. Still." He chuckled. "But you did kill a fair assortment of others. Scrubs, Janitors, office-workers, _innocents."_ He spat it out like it was a swear word. "Innocents like _her._"

Vincent rolled over then, driving himself up into a sitting position. Suddenly, he realized the blood on the ground was not his own. It belonged to a woman, silver-haired and beautiful, even in death. A gaping wound scarred the pale skin of her stomach.

The only thing that was going through Vincent's head was, _No, no, not again! _

"Lucrecia!" he moaned, the words tearing from his throat. He made a move toward her, but Hojo restrained him, grasping him around the shoulders.

"Get off me!" he shrieked.

"No," Hojo said, so icily that Vincent stopped struggling. "Don't you think you've done enough?"

"No, no, no…" Vincent refused to believe it. It couldn't be possible. Not Lucrecia too. Everyone died, everyone who got near him died…and by his own hand. Slowly, he slumped to the ground, his body shaking with the strangled tears. It would have been a relief to transform, to lose all conscious thought, but the demon remained deep inside, chained by sorrow.

"You loved her, didn't you?" Hojo asked. His tone wasn't kindly, but neither was it the usual caustic drawl.

Vincent threw him the dirtiest look he could muster. "Yes. Didn't you?" He didn't know why he asked that last part, it just popped out of his mouth.

Hojo's eyes fell on the motionless form on the bloodstained tiles. "I make it a rule to never fall in love." He turned back to Vincent. "Look what it did to you." When he didn't answer, Hojo went on. "They're after you, you know that?"

"What?" Vincent asked, trying to shake himself out of the bottomless haze his mind seemed to have dropped into.

"You are a wanted man, or should I say, a wanted _demon._ The president recently told me that you were too dangerous to keep around, so he lured you here to destroy you and—,"

"Hold on!" Vincent yelled, "That's not true! Lucrecia and I decided to come here on our own!"

Hojo snorted, apparently amused by Vincent's insufficiency. "Oh really? You just randomly came up with the idea to storm the Shinra building? The most impenetrable fortress on the Planet?"

"Yes," Vincent answered, slightly embarrassed suddenly.

"No, you didn't," Hojo said firmly. "You remember the chip we put into your brain, the one that kept you calm while you were in the facility?"

Vincent nodded. He remembered it alright.

"Well, it doesn't work as well over long distances, but we are still able to send your brain suggestions through the chip. That's exactly what the president did."

Vincent was finally beginning to understand, and as the understanding sank in, he began to comprehend the brutal reality of what had happened. He had been conned, tricked. Hypnotized into making the most fatal mistake of his life. And Lucrecia had paid for it.

"You!" he shrieked, rounding on Hojo, "This is allyour fault then!"

"I had nothing to do with that decision," the scientist answered levelly. "It was the president, not me. I tried to talk him out of destroying you."

"Why? You hate me!"

But Hojo was shaking his head. "I don't hate you, Vincent. As I am incapable of love, I am also incapable of hate. I enhanced you genetically because I was ordered to, and I mocked you because that is the way I am.

"My wife adored you, and my son…" Hojo shook his head, hair flopping in his oil-black eyes. "I believe Sephiroth was in love with you, as well."

Vincent just sat there with his mouth slightly open, looking a bit like a slack-jawed idiot. "_What?_"

"You heard me. I believe Sephiroth was in love with you."

"You mean he was…" Vincent swallowed. "_Gay?_"

Hojo let out a harsh laugh. "Not everything is that simple, Valentine, least of all human emotion. You were the first person whoever showed my son anything resembling kindness. You were an ally and a friend to him. If you mean gay as in he, a man, cared for you, a man as well, very deeply, then yes. If you mean gay in that he wanted you physically…" Vincent felt his face burn. "Then no."

Vincent didn't know what to think. Sephiroth had loved him? Well, there was someone else he had betrayed. Seph was now much worse off than he was.

_What the hell do I do now? _

Hojo seemed to read his mind. "I assume you are wondering where to go from here. I have a suggestion for you."

Vincent made a face. "I don't give a fuck what you have to say."

"That's unfortunate, as I may have the only way out of your present situation."

Vincent was silent for a minute. "I'm listening," he said finally.

"There is a way for you to disappear, where no one from the Shinra will ever find you. It won't be pleasant, but maybe somehow you can find redemption."

"Redemption?"

"There is a darkness in you, Vincent. One I didn't put there," Hojo added as Vincent opened his mouth to protest. "It lives deep down in the farthest reaches of your soul. It is the part of you that allowed yourself to lose all control and kill almost everyone in this building.

"I brought that darkness out because I am a cruel and heartless man. But this can save you."

Vincent didn't answer right away. Instead he picked himself off the ground, crossing quietly to Lucrecia's splayed body. Her eyes were shut tight and her skin was paler than ever. There was nothing in her, nothing at all, no spark, no warmth.

Nothing.

"Alright. I'll take your offer."

He wasn't sure what Hojo did then, but the next thing he knew, darkness was closing in on him. As the world he knew faded from sight, something someone very wise had once said came floating across his mind.

_Your consciousness ran and hid from what's happening outside it. I'm just here to tell you that you gotta be strong like I know you can be. Believe me, you're gonna need it when you get back out._

* * *

Epilogue

Hojo sighed. Delivering Vincent to the place he needed to be hadn't taken very long, and he was now back in the Shinra building, wading through the carnage that the demon had left. It only took him a few moments to reach the small office where Lucrecia's body still lay. He stared at it a few seconds, then leaned down and removed a thin gold chain from her neck. Her form rippled, and then suddenly changed, the long silver hair shortening and turning blond, the coat and skirt becoming an office suit.

Hojo left the dead man there. He had served his purpose; he had gotten Vincent to agree to the plan. Now he had to deal with the real, _breathing_Lucrecia.

This story wasn't over. Not by a long-shot.

The End…for now

Look for the sequel some time next month, I believe.


End file.
